Duke TIP at UGA

Barbie Drop with Algebra II

2010-07-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

By Kathy Garner

"Barbie's going skydiving" -Haishat, Algebra II TIPster

Ever want to randomly throw a Barbie off a bridge? Algebra II was able to have that privilege. In order to try to keep the class fun, this activity was chosen to show the graph of quadratic recession. The equation was used in order to show what was safe in order for Barbie not to get killed. TA Tallon Stroud was quoted as saying "they're finding out it's easier to stay simpler [with parachute designs]... Barbie's died numerous times".

Many TIPsters chose to disregard any mathematical formulas and just go for whatever. "It's a lab... just for fun" one of the participants, Kyle, said. Continuing with the theme of trying to keep the class fun, other activities the class has participated in include sending Barbie bungee jumping with rubber bands and graphing with shaving creme. Algebra II is taught by Jenifer McNally.

How to Stay in Touch with Your TIP Friends

2010-07-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

By Lan'Tiqua Burks

At Tip, you make friends that you will keep forever.” -2009 Summer Studies Student

Well this is true unless you don’t keep in touch with your friends from TIP. You have to get everyone’s number, their email address, and add them as a friend on Facebook. These things alone will not keep you and your TIP friends close. If you do these five things you’ll definitely stay in touch with your friends.

1. Call often- make sure you don’t let too much time go by without talking to any of your TIP friends. This will ensure you don’t miss anything important in their life and they don’t miss anything important in yours. When school starts everybody will be busy but make sure you don’t let school sever your connection.

2. Use Facebook and Myspace – when you see a new picture or a funny status make sure you comment. This will allow your friend to know that you saw this. Facebook and MySpace both account for a great deal of communication between teenagers, so when your online and you see an old TIP friend, IM them and let them know what’s new in your life.

3. Use Skype and Oovoo – If you have a web cam this will be a great time to pull it out and put it to use. Web cam conversations not only are more fun but make the conversation more personal because you can see the person you’re talking to. This is great when you get a new haircut or dye your hair a different color and a picture won’t do it justice. A web cam will make you feel like your right there with the person.

4. Email and Texting- emails and text messages are a good way to express how much you miss someone. Emails are faster and easier than writing a letter, and texting is almost instant. Also, most people have their phones 24/7 and you can have several conversations at the same time.

5. Plan your next year at TIP- if you’re going to return to TIP make sure you talk to all your friends and see where they’re going before you decide, and use all the things in the list above to contact all your friends.

Many Tipsters say that TIP is 3 weeks of fun and 49 weeks of waiting. In those weeks of waiting, use these things to stay in touch.

TIPJokes

2010-07-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

By Megan Valentine

Every term at TIP has its inside jokes, games, and phrases. This is a memorial to Term 2 at UGA 2010.

Nerd Quest

2010-07-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

MaLea Berry and Emily Soroka
M&M TIPsters

What do Star Wars, Twilight,Tetris, and the "take this pebble from my hand" scene in The Karate Kid all have in common? They were all part of the nerd-related events that took place Thursday, July 29, at Duke TIP's first ever NERD QUEST!!!

NerdQuest is "to find which class is the nerdiest," says Philosophy student Freddy Argueta. NerdQuest consists of playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors", Star Wars and Harry Potter Trivia, and some other nerdy events. The philosophy class and zombies/vampires class met in Myers Hall around 2PM on Thursday for this nerdy event. It was a great time for these two classes to bond.

The students from Duke TIP's philosophy class took place in an all out battle with the Zombies and Vampires class over things that only true, true, dedicated nerds would know. When it came time for the events Thursday afternoon, the two classes were ready to "pwn some noobz" and prove why their class was the nerdiest of the nerdiest in this mental melee of nerd-tastic events.

It started out as a joke within the Zombies and Vampires class one afternoon. Members of the class started kidding around about how instead of discussing some "nerd-related activities" amongst themselves, they wanted to have a chance to "crush the philosophy class" instead. Zombies teacher and Teacher's Assistant, Anna Carson Dewitt and Danny Mehta, came back the next day saying "Remember how you said you wanted to crush the philosophy class? You may just get a chance to do that..." and thus, NERD QUEST!!! was born.
The Quest started out with a Star Wars trivia round. The classes each had a trivia team,The Destroyers (Zombies) and The Philosoraptors (Philosophy), made up of 6 members, who answered trivia questions about Star Wars. When asked about the caliber of the questions, Zombies and Vampires student, Sam Gray, said, "Those questions were really hard! Our team really didn't know enough about Star Wars to beat [the] Philosophy [class in that round]!"

The next event of the afternoon was the Rock Paper Scissors throwdown. Gray also commented on this event, saying "[The philosophy class was] very strict about their rules! ...They were so serious about doing it the right way."
Rules put in place by the Philosophy class included:
1. If you're using PAPER, your hand has to be parallel to the ground and your fingers can't be spread.
2. You can't use your other hand as a "training wheel".
3. You go 1, 2, Shoot!

Other events at the first ever Nerd Quest included Harry Potter and Twilight trivia, the Poetry Challenge, where the two contestants battle trying to create a poem based off of well-known excerpts, the nerd-tabulous game of Tetris, Philosophical Text Analysis, and plainly stated, taking a pebble from someone's hands (based off of the scene in The [original] Karate Kid).

When asked to describe what Nerd Quest is all about, Gray stated, "We are learning to be well-rounded nerds by participating in a wide variety of common nerd activities."
In this, the first ever Nerd Quest, the noobz were pwnd as the Philosoraptors came to victory. Thus, the possible start of a new tradition and friendly rivalry at Duke TIP at UGA has been born.

MaLea Berry, 15, is a sophomore at The Paideia School in Atlanta, Georgia
Emily Soroka, 14, is a freshman at West Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia

To Be Continued...

2010-07-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

To be continued...

By Nicole Alanko

The typical fourth year traditions are the IHOP trip on the last night, swaying together to “American Pie”, and carrying the symbolic orange lanyards. At Duke TIP at UGA, Term 2 2010, the fourth years have redefined traditions.

Patrick, the fourth year boys’ RC, tells his RC group member Colin, a bedtime story, but it has grown from Patrick’s RC group to Julie’s RC group, other fourth year girls, and some of the second year boys on that hall.

The stories began the night after the Staff/Student Ultimate Frisbee game. Colin was in his room, and hid so that Patrick would have to come looking for him in the room. When Patrick came in, Colin asked him to tell a bedtime story about the game.

These stories grew into being the “best soap opera ever”, according to Meghan Dorn, a fourth year. Other fourth years commented that they’re “hilarious” and “It’s interesting how we’re all perceived by Colin and Patrick in these stories.”

The story is a soap opera starring the TIPsters, full of relation-tips, car chases in Paris and an eco-terrorist group. All of the boys in Patrick’s RC group sit in Colin’s room and listen, while the girls race down the hall to get the best seats just outside the door (because girls are not allowed in boys’ rooms at TIP). All of the girls crunch in together to hear the latest episode in the saga.

“I’m obviously surprised at the popularity,” commented Patrick. “I thought it would stop after one story. It’s grown now to audiences of more than thirty TIPsters.”

“It’s a great idea,” said Julie, who has been taking her RC group up to listen to the stories on the last week of TIP.

Haley and Alex, fourth years from Julie’s group, also add that the stories are “great bonding time for the fourth years.”

TIP Fashion

2010-07-30T08:01:00.002-07:00

By Olivia Baker

There are many unique and different kinds of people at the Duke TIP Summer Studies program. So it makes sense that their wardrobes and personal sense of style would be too. “I don’t like standard beauty, there is no beauty without strangeness,” said Karl Lagerfeld, head designer and creative director of Chanel. This definitely applies to the Duke TIP students.

The second week of TIP you will definitely see some crazy outfits. Week two at TIP is Spirit Week! Monday is Pajama Day and all the TIPster s get to go to class in their comfy jammies. Tuesday is Twin Day where TIPsters dress the same as one or more of their friends. Next up is Wacky Tacky day on Wednesday and the students dress in their crazy tackiest. However, Thursday is the most popular. It was recently changed to Crazy Hair Day, but traditionally has been Opposite Day. Friday is Favorite Team Day, where everyone represents their favorite team, or their campus. GO DAWGS!

The Duke TIP students are proud to be different, and love to express themselves in as many ways as possible. One being the way they dress. It’s not every day you see people walking around in tutus, wearing cat ears, and swinging neon shoe strings. But at TIP it’s a daily occurrence. We get many stares from college students and or other camps, but we don’t care. At TIP it’s all about the non-conformists. At school, those who all dress the same might be the popular ones- but not at TIP. The more interesting and different you are, the more you are well known. Most TIPsters never feel the need to be normal. But whether it’s Wacky Tacky Day, or just Monday, you’ll always see something interesting.

TIPtivitives

2010-07-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

By Alaina Boyden

At Duke TIP for evening activities, which are from 7:30- 930 every night, there are many activities to choose from. You’re guaranteed to never be just sitting down somewhere bored! These activities give friends a chance to bond or for new friendships to form. Even if you don’t get the activity that you signed up for you have a chance to switch your activity to a better one by asking the RCs. No matter what, you’re going to have fun!

Sports are ALWAYS popular at TIP with football, basketball, soccer, and Frisbee as regular options. Many TIPsters are excited about this because “we sit in a classroom all day so we need to get out and have fun.”

There’s also a choice to go downtown which is pretty simple in that you go into downtown Athens and hit up the stores, ice cream shops, or the ever popular Starbucks. “I love going downtown for ice cream, yoguri is especially good,” says a TIPster. Yoguri is a frozen yogurt shop located downtown and much loved by all the TIPsters.

If you’re not feeling up to physical activities you can choose improv, unsolicited advice, or even laundry and board games. Improv is an activity where the students get together and “improv”- act out short skits without a script. They have many interesting acting games including one known as “Freeze” where during a scene that students are acting out someone yells out freeze and then they’d take the place of one of the “frozen” people and start a new scene from the previous poses.

Unsolicited advice is an activity where you ask a question anonymously and then whoever is in charge of the activity would answer the question and no one would know who asked. Yet what makes the experience genuine are the answers that the RCs come up with, which are generally very creative and very honest.

Laundry and board games are usually offered during the second week so those who didn’t get a chance to do laundry have extra time and if you don’t need to do laundry then you can play games. Chilling on the quad is also a popular choice at TIP. It’s where you go outside and simply read a book, sit and talk to friends, play Frisbee, or even take a nap.

All in all there are many things to do at TIP, so sign up and have fun!

Ordering food at TIP.

2010-07-30T07:40:00.002-07:00

Ordering Food While at TIP.

By David Garcia and Paxton Swisher
M&M TIPsters

Choo-choo’s and Domino’s is commonly on the minds of the Duke TIP students. Although it seems easy to do, there can be many complications. “[Ordering food] is very hard,” says TIPster Mark McGuire about ordering food while at camp.

One of first problems you run into, as a TIPster ordering food, is timing. The food must arrive by 10:00 p.m. This means you have to call before 9:30 or else that means no food for you! We don’t want a starving TIPster, now do we?

Even if you can order the food on time, you still have to find the delivery guy. Probably every single TIPster can tell you about a time when they had to chase down a delivery boy. There have even been times when the delivery boy left before the food could be delivered. That’s just another lesson learned when you’re on your TIP vacation: be sure to be on time to get your food.

An easy fix for this problem is pay a lesser year to pick it up for you. They are very willing people when it comes to being paid.
But any TIPster can tell you that once you have your food, you’ll be the most popular person at TIP. Then everyone wants to be your “friend”.

Mobs are commonly formed to get the delivered food, and occasionally your food will be consumed by the giant, hungry mob. It’d be a good idea to have a body guard to get your food from the first floor up to your hall to protect your precious goods. The only down side: the body guard expects to get paid, so be sure to leave a bit for him.

When it comes to pizza, there’s the problem of the smell. A TIPster can smell pizza from miles away. So if you plan on ordering pizza, be sure to pack some masking cologne/perfume. The pizza box is another thing that needs to be hidden. Once a friend sees you had pizza that they didn’t get a slice from, there goes that friend. The easiest way to hide the box is putting it under your bed until the last day when everyone is too distracted by the end of tip to worry about who had pizza.
But after going through all these hardships, there’s always that reward of getting to eat your food. Once you take that first bite, you know that all that struggling wasn’t for nothing. Tasting the sweet, sweet Chinese food or the cheesy goodness of the pizza, you know ordering food at TIP is worth it.
Paxton Swisher, 15, is a sophomore at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas

David Garcia, 15, is a sophomore at South Grand Prairie HS in Dallas, Texas

photos by Victor Mancuso and Dustin Watson

Andrew Sanchez. A TIP Musician.

2010-07-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Andrew Sanchez: TIP Musician

Andrew Sanchez was born in New Port Richey, Florida on December 18, 1994. He currently lives in Port Charlotte, Florida, with his mother, father, and younger sister and attends Charlotte High School as a 10th grader.

He began playing guitar in third grade, and practices whenever he has a chance. He has quite a few inspirations, some of which consist of Antoine Dufour and Jimmy Page. His grandpa and cousin also play guitar. Andrew has won awards at talent shows and even has a number one fan. He is very skilled at guitar even though he is just 15.

As a 3rd year, 2nd year, Andrew can be found playing songs for groups of people whenever he can during free time. “Whenever you perform in front of a group of people and you get a standing ovation, it always feels really good inside”, Andrew said, “and you get chicks,” he laughed.

He doesn’t play any other instruments at the moment, but wants to pick up playing piano again. "Like I'd minor in guitar, but I don't want to do anything with it," Andrew has a bright future ahead of him, even though he doesn’t want to have a profession that relates to guitar playing.

Having musicians at Duke TIP is very common and it’s a great thing. You can always find someone playing guitar, piano, or singing.

Music is very important in our society and it’s great when young people play instruments. According to evidence that scientists have uncovered, music makes you smarter, which leads to musicians’ brains functioning different from those who do not play an instrument. Playing an instrument improves cognitive skill and can open up opportunities in life.

Andrew Sanchez is one of the many extraordinary young people that are the bright future of tomorrow.

- "Young people can learn from my example that something can come from nothing. What I have become is the result of my hard efforts." - Franz Joseph Haydn

Emily Soroka, 14, is a Freshman at West Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia

How to Fight TIPression

2010-07-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

By Kathy Garner
Media and Message TIPster
TIPression: n. A feeling of depression after leaving TIP, especially strong with fourth years
There are some ways to help fight TIPression. The easiest is flipping through a termbook. Those publications hold memories! Slightly harder, but still convenient, is finding everyone you know and friending them on Facebook, adding them on Skype, following them on Twitter, etc. With technology linking everyone together, you now can have that conversation you’ve been meaning to have with all of your friends that are spread out all over the country. TIPwiki can also be good for reliving old memories.
One of the more difficult ways is coming back next year. There is no concrete way to guarantee coming back to the same term and campus, or that all of your friends will be there with you. Being a fourth year can be exceptionally difficult because there is no way to come back to TIP as a camper. After your freshman year in college, however, it is possible to apply to be an RC.

Many find music to be healing, so listening to traditional TIP songs (the most famous being "American Pie") may also help. Keep your shoelace some place safe in your room as well, and frame pictures. Keep memories alive and stay in touch.

TIPwiki

2010-07-29T12:33:00.001-07:00

By Megan Valentine

When you get home from TIP do you find yourself reminiscing about friends and inside jokes you made while there? Well, if you do then a good place for you to visit might be TIPWiki.
TIPWiki is a website, made to resemble the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia, where TIPsters, old and young, can freely post information about TIP and their experiences.
TIPWiki was created by past TIPster, Jason “Timmy” LaRue, from the Davidson and Duke East campuses. It is currently being run by Anthony Chivetta, another TIPster from Duke East, who took over for Timmy after his computer kept crashing not only causing his computer to be down but the site as well.
Although Anthony runs the site anyone can contribute to its content, so long as it follows TIPWiki’s standards and policies. On the site you can find basically anything and everything you ever wanted to know about TIP and all of its campuses by reading the 647 articles that have been posted to it.

When you search for UGA on TIPwiki you will find a short summary about its history with the TIP program. Also on the page is a list of traditions and a list of the “original fourth years” from both term 1 and 2. The traditions listed on the page range from the staff vs. student ultimate Frisbee game to some that are specifically term 1 traditions, such as The Ninjas, a group of fourth year boys who are known for “appearing when you least expect it”.

You can also view information about each campus’s official TIP songs and past RCs, dating all the way back to 2001. One of the more popular pages amongst TIPsters who have been to TIPWiki is the relationTIP page. It lists every relationTIP from all the campuses since 2003, it even has a list of relationTIPs from UGA Term 2 2010.

TIPWiki is the perfect place for TIPsters to visit if they just can’t get enough of TIP. It’s a great place to keep track of inside jokes, traditions, and all the little things about each year of TIP.

If you would like to see the site, add your own jokes and information, and even design the official TIPWiki logo, then go to http://www.tipwiki.net/

Megan Valentine, 16, is a junior at Reagan High School in Winston Salem, N.C.

Improv! The Final Scene

2010-07-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

By Ella Sivertsen
Imagine the lights on you. A hundred eyes are watching. You’re expected to provide a killer skit momentarily. You’re ready. The only catch: There’s no script.
Welcome to the wonderful world of improvisation, otherwise known as acting without a script. All the content is made up on the spot. Improv!, the regular evening activity itself, serves as an outlet for TIPsters to be creative, show off their skills, gain confidence, and have fun creating and watching great theater.

On Sunday, many brave TIPsters lined up for their shot to feature their improv skills in the talent show. Although all efforts were valiant, only eight competitors could advance to the deciding round: Improv! The Final Scene. These competitors were TIPsters Kevin, Marianna, Josh, Meghan, Tori, Brian, Bree, and Madeline.

The first challenge was a seemingly simple one. Each had to introduce him-/herself in a creative way. This, however, may have been more crucial than they realized. First impressions are important, after all. improvisers were obviously hardcore; it takes guts to stand up in front of your peers and come up with creative skits to entertain them.

The actors participated in several acting challenges. RCs Megan and George gave a "game" to play and a theme to act in. More familiar games included “Change,” in which the person who said the last line had to change it (without changing the scene), “Party Quirks”, for which the host had some unusual guests and had to figure out the quirk of each, and “The Dating Game,” similar to “Party Quirks,” but with a dating show theme.
In the end, everyone had performed admirably, but there could only be four official winners. These were Meghan, Tori, Marianna, and Josh.

Comparing and Contrasting the TIP campuses

2010-07-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

By Kathy Garner

TIP is love, no matter where you choose to go to. Recently, there were some changes made to campus locations that made this statement so much the more true. Now, in order to be a fourth year-fourth year, the average TIPster must go to two campuses; one for first (and maybe second) year, and then another for the remaining years. Each campus has its perks, its downsides, and its traditions. However, TIP is the overall bond between each campus, and no matter how many campuses you go to, you will always be a TIPster, and thus in a tight-knit family. Because this is only the second year that TIP is at UGA, this campus is a conglomeration of many other campuses and traditions. These are a few facts about where UGA TIPsters are from.

Texas A&M: I spent my first year during Term 1 2008 at Texas A&M. There are a couple things A&M has that the other two campuses I’ve been to don’t. My first choice is sinks in the dorm. I was under the impression those were pretty standard, but evidentially they aren’t. When you’ve gotten used to just waiting a few minutes for your roommate to finish washing her face and brushing her teeth to having to walk all the way to a bathroom to find that every sink is already taken, you miss them.

They also have a lounge section for one of their laundry rooms, which is nice when you have ten minutes left on a washer and don’t want to walk upstairs to your dorm. They have their lounge one and a regular in the dorm laundry room. It also has the cheapest laundry rates; $1.50 to wash and dry (.75 each) (It should be noted that they have gotten new dryers since I was there, so the rates may have changed).

However, as with all dorms, there are downsides. One of the minor ones is the bunk beds. Neither of the other two campuses had bunks, but I’d trade the normal beds for a sink in my dorm. Second, there were no common rooms like on other campuses. They had two lounges (the one with the laundry room (which was in a seperate building) and one with a TV), but common rooms on second through fourth floor were just dorms with different furniture. It's also difficult to pack and unpack with rolling luggage because there are no elevators in Moses Hall.

One of the worst downsides to A&M was the prominent Texas heat, most noticeable during Aggfest (the RCs were really concerned about our hydration, and ‘minimum one glass of water at dinner’ was a daily rule). Events in Aggfest, Texas A&M's TIP field day, consisted of the ones that the entire team had to compete in (Tug-o-War, Dorm Blob, Cheer, and some sort of relay) and the ones that each camper signed up for (trivia, field games, and others). Another tradition was the staff taking us to the Bonfire Memorial after the Staff v. Student game. Final dance was Thursday, and slideshow/talent show was on the last night, where you were allowed to drag your mattress into someone else’s dorm and spend the night with people who weren’t your roommate.

Appalachian State University: Definitely one of the cooler campuses I’ve been to, both in temperature and atmosphere. I chose to take psychology at ASU in 2009. It had the most perks of any campus I’ve been to. In addition to being a gorgeous campus, and the central building for classes feet away from the dining hall used, they allowed you more freedom during free time; you could choose to go to the student center (an arcade room and the campus bookstore were located here), utilize the computers at the library, play Frisbee on the quad, or go to the dorms and take a nap. They also had a central common room on each floor, and a room with a TV on the first floor.

During Term 2 2009, the washers and dryers had signup sheets to help with the typical Sunday morning rush to wash clothes, though these were usually disregarded. However, their laundry is most expensive, $2.50 to both wash and dry clothes ($1.25 separately). They also only had three showers in the bathrooms. A&M’s water might not have heated up correctly, but it did help that there were more than three. At ASU, there was also a dress code (which I feel was reasonable; girls couldn’t be too suggestively dressed, guys couldn’t sag).

Traditions were also the strongest at ASU. PITfest, ASU's TIP field day, was mainly ‘camper signs up’ for events; Jello-snarfle, pudding feed, cheesy poof face, and dizzy bat, among others. The entire team did have to come together for cheer, and staff v. student Ultimate Frisbee was held following PITfest, but in other years the Ultimate Frisbee game has been part of the PITfest competition.

University of Kansas: Media and Message TIPster Ella Sivertsen attended the KU campus at Term 2 in 2009, and shared some facts about her experience.

There are a standard four to a dorm room instead of two because the rooms are in the newer "suite style", meaning that there is a small study area in between two bedrooms. They also use bunk beds, and they have a private bathroom. Common rooms are located on each of the seven floors, and laundry rooms are in the basement. The prices are reasonable at $1.50 for a wash and dry ($0.75 separately). Despite the common knowledge that Kansas is extremely flat, the TIPsters in the Creative Writing class had to climb two huge hills every day on their way to class. The music played at the dances was also more censored because the students were younger.

University of Georgia: One part of UGA that everyone loves is the food. There’s a nice selection, it tastes great, no wonder- they've won 73 national awards! Getting to take a bus to class instead of walking in the heat is also a major plus.

Laundry is moderately priced at about $2 for a washer and a dryer ($1 for a washer, .50 for 20 minutes of drying time with 40 minutes recommended), and the laundry rooms are located on both floors that TIPsters live on, but with only four washers, it can be difficult to do laundry during the Sunday rush. The downside of the Georgia laundry rooms would be the fact that you need a card to operate them.

DAWGfest, UGA's version of the traditional TIP field days (KU's Swampfest, ASU's PITfest, and A&M's Aggfest), consists of the entire team coming together for a cheer, and then events in which the TIPster signs up for during planning.

Each campus is a unique place that facilitates bonding, allows for friendly competition, and helps make great memories for all TIPsters. No matter where you are, where you're from, or where you go, each TIP campus is a home away from home.

Top Songs for Term 2 2010

2010-07-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

Compiled by Nicole Alanko

Everyone always has their iPods in their ears and listens to music at dances and jam sessions... The Top 25 Most Popular songs at TIP at UGA for Term 2, 2010 have been found, thanks to your votes. Also, the Top 15 songs Most Likely to Be Stuck in Your Head have been found.

Top 25 Most Popular

American Pie by Don McLean
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day
Airplanes by B.o.B. (feat. Hayley Williams)
Don’t Stop Believing by Journey
Hey, Soul Sister by Train
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something
Tik Tok by Ke$ha
Nothin’ on You by B.o.B.
Cupid Shuffle by Cupid
I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas
Break Your Heart by Taio Cruz (feat. Ludacris)
My First Kiss by 3OH!3
When You Were Young by the Killers
Save Tonight by Eagle Eye Cherry
End of the World by REM
You're a Jerk by New Boyz
Hey there, Delilah by Plain White T's
Don't Trust Me by 3OH!3
California Girls by Katy Perry
Sandstorm by Darude
Bad Romance by Lady GaGa
I'm on a Boat by T-Pain
Your Love is My Drug by Ke$ha
Fireflies by Owl City
Nine in the Afternoon by Panic! at the Disco

Top 15 Most Likely to Be Stuck in Your Head

Snellebrate by Westown (Youtube)
My First Kiss by 3OH!3
Don’t Stop Believing by Journey
Tik Tok by Ke$ha
I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas
Don’t Trust Me by 3OH!3
Hey, Soul Sister by Train
Bad Romance by Lady GaGa
Electric Feel by MGMT
Poker Face by Lady Gaga
Baby by Justin Bieber (feat. Ludacris)
End of the World by REM
YMCA by Village People
Can't Be Tamed by Miley Cyrus
Thriller by Michael Jackson

Multimedia: Duke TIP at UGA Term II (TIPATUGA)

2010-07-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

Soundslides: Alaina Boyden, Lan'Tiqua Burks and Toju Mikie

Multimedia: Duke TIP at UGA Term II

2010-07-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Soundslides: Olivia Baker, Kathy Garner, Damarcio McCoy, Ella Sivertsen and Megan Valentine

Darius Goes TIP

2010-07-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Darius Weems, center, with the M&M class.

In 2005, 15-year-old Athens, Ga., native Darius Weems started a journey.

Weems, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), and a group of 11 friends set out on a cross-country road trip with the goal of getting his wheelchair pimped by the crew from MTV's popular "Pimp My Ride." Along for the ride was a camera to document their experience, which was the first time Weems had ever left Athens. The end result was the documentary Darius Goes West, a film that has captured hearts of audience members across the country and turned into a movement to raise money to cure DMD.

"It just feels good being able to see how good we did and how good we still are doing," Weems said Wednesday afternoon. He took time to speak with the M&M and Sports Medicine classes and answer their questions about life since the film.

The 20-year-old has since traveled 47 states with the DGW team, holding speaking engagements and viewings of the film at high schools and colleges.

"I would definitely say Darius Goes West inspired me to do most things that I thought I couldn't do...And it just changed my life from sitting at home into traveling," he said.

The film has also allowed him to share his life story. "I inspired a lot of people, so it keeps me up in spirits and it makes me keep on wanting to find a cure to this disease."

Weems received national attention on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Today Show, and has since met a long list of celebrities, including LL Cool J, Kanye West, William H. Macy, Bill Gates, Ben Affleck, and Robin Williams. He also got a letter from Beyonce.

Aside from working with the DGW movement, Weems is focusing on developing a rap career. "I like to inspire people through my music," he said. He will perform three of his original raps Saturday at the Darius Goes West Day festivities held in Athens.

Weems also took a moment to provide the TIPsters with words of advice on how to start their own movements for things they are passionate about.

"Just bring it to the people," he explained, "because without the people you have nothing."

M&M TIPsters are providing additional content on Darius Weems and Darius Goes West at athensteens.blogspot.com.

Ed Morales Visits

2010-07-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

Ed Morales, editorial adviser to the University of Georgia's independent student newspaper, The Red & Black, talked with M&M TIPsters Monday afternoon. Students learned about the publication and gained insight on preparing for a journalistic career. At the end, Morales offered a special prize of a staff t-shirt to the first M&M student who could give the age of the newspaper. Nicole Alanko, above, won with her response of the year of the paper's founding: 1893.

For more information on Morales and The Red and Black, check out this article on his visit last term: All the World's a Story: Red and Black Editorial Adviser Discusses Journalism and Newspapers

M&M TIPsters Get a Taste of the Newspaper Life

2010-07-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

By Sarah Eutsler, M&M TA

Contributers: Olivia Baker, Lan’Tiqua Burks, Lexi Lutsky, David Garcia, Alaina Boyden, Paxton Swisher

The Athens-Banner Herald, like other modern newspapers, is learning to change with the times.

“Social media has changed our jobs a lot!” said Executive Editor Melissa Hanna to the Media and Message TIPsters during a Monday tour of the publication.

Hanna went on to explain that the Athens Banner-Herald uses their website, Twitter, and Facebook accounts to promote and break news.

The online version is a significant part of the publication due to ease of accessibility and potentially higher readership than the print edition.

“The online product is just as important, if not more important than the actual paper, “ Hanna said.

M&M TIPsters get an up-close look at the Banner-Herald's printing press.

But while the online sites serve as tools, there is a little bit of hesitancy.

“It’s a scary time to be in this business,” Hanna said, explaining that even though most in newspapers utilize the online tools, many do not know how it will work out for them in the end.

Digital age fears aside, there’s still a print paper to produce. Students met with Hanna in the conference room where reporters gather to budget—or plan out—the stories to be included in each issue. The staff strives to fill the niche of the local Athens area when it comes to their reporting. They also try to put a local twist on national and international stories to show how stories are relevant to the community and its residents.

Plans, however, do not always stick. Stories can easily be bumped minutes from deadline due to a breaking news story that has greater significance.

Hanna ended the talk by going into the life of the journalist more in depth. Most of the staff, she explained, works about 40-50 hours a week, and schedules are sometimes flexible by what they cover. Those who report on sports, Hanna explained, might take time off in the morning and afternoon and work at night, when most sporting events occur.

Hanna also reflected on her own job. “The hardest part of the process is editing—looking at a story with an objective eye and finding holes,” she explained.

But despite the challenges of the job, Hanna was quick to say that through the long hours and uncertainty, there is still a love of the profession.

Visit the Banner-Herald online at: www.onlineathens.com

Darius Goes West Review 3

2010-07-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

Editor's Note. Students in the Media and Message course watched Darius Goes West. Here are a few of their reviews of the award-winning documentary about an Athens teenager with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

By Madison Howard
M&M TIPster

Have you ever seen a documentary that was interesting and made you care about it? Yesterday, I would have said no. Most documentaries are boring and make you want to sleep during them. But not Darius Goes West.
This documentary was moving and wonderful. It showed the life of a 16 year old teen with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. His name is Darius and he is from Athens Georgia. This film follows him from Athens Georgia, to Los Angeles California. He wanted to persuade MTV Studios to allow him to appear on the show, Pimp My Ride. Darius wanted them to "pimp" his wheelchair.
He and twelve friends go on a road trip to try and make this possible. They have fun and treat Darius like a "normal" person, instead of someone with a fatal disease.
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most deadly dystrophy. It has a 100% death rate. People with this disease usually live only to be in their teens or twenty's. A good scenario would be that they would live to be thirty.

Darius didn't do this for himself. He wanted to spread awareness for future generations. This movie won many awards and has gotten this disease more public so that people can help find a cure.

Darius' brother, Mario, died of this disease when he was only nineteen. Darius knows that he will die just like his brother. He knows that he will most likely not live to see the age of thirty- one. But, he is determined to help others.
Part of the trip was to show how wheelchair inaccessible places are. There are gas stations and many other places that if you're in a wheelchair, you can't visit.

This documentary was the best that I have ever seen. You laughed, you cried, and you smiled at the fact that even though Darius has every reason to be angry at the world, he wasn't. He just wanted to make a difference.
More information about Darius and this movie at the Darius Goes West website.

Let's Go West: DGW Review No. 2

2010-07-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

By Ben Calvo
M&M TIPster

Darius Goes West was one of the most amazing documentaries I have seen in my lifetime. I am not unaware of the seriousness of the disease that Darius has because one of my friend's older sister has it.

Meredeth is like an older sister to all of us and we don't really pay attention to the fact that she's in a wheelchair. I think this is due to the fact that she is a lot like Darius. She doesn't let the fact that she is in a wheelchair bother her, she lives her life. However, I don't think that my friends or I ever realized how hard it can sometimes be for her.

After watching this film, I want to help make Meredeth's (and future children with this disease) life easier. Not out of pity, but because she deserves the same life experience that the rest of us have. Meredeth is heavily involved with the Muscular Dystrophy cure movement, and I am definitely going to ask her how I can get involved once I get back home.

I also want to donate money. My relatives always give a lot of money for holidays and other occasions. I usually spend half and save half, but after seeing Darius Goes West, I want to give money to this cause and know that I am helping to make a change.

Another thing that I remembered as I watching the movie is how Chapel Hill is very wheel chair accessible, however, one of the most important places, Raleigh-Durham Airport, has barely any ramps. Airports need to be accessible for disabled people, otherwise it's impossible to get anywhere. When my plane lands on July 3 in Raleigh, I am going to complain.

School buses are another problem. Most of the public schools in my area have ramps and its easy for handicapped people to get around. However, the school buses don't have a space for for wheelchairs. Kids and teens with muscular dystrophy have to be driven to school and that can sometimes cause an inconvenience for parents in terms of work and gas money. Public transportation should be able to be used by all of our citizens.

Seeing this documentary has changed my whole perspective on this disease and how we have to change some things to make lives easier for people who have to live with it. I think we all need to realize what we can do for this cause, lives are at stake, but we can all play a part in changing that.

Darius Goes West Review 1

2010-07-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

By Courtney Scoufis
M&M TIPster

Darius Goes West is a documentary about a 15 year old named Darius Weems who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). He goes on a road trip with his eleven best friends to California in order to try to get MTV to "pimp his wheelchair." Beside trying to get his wheelchair "pimped" he also tried to raise awareness of Muscular Dystrophy and how many places aren't handicapped accessible throughout the United States.

Darius lives in Athens, Georgia and had never been out of the county. When his brother of (DMD) he knew he had to do something to help raise awareness. He dreamed of being on Pimp my Ride and thought that being on the show would help his cause.

Darius took a road trip "West" to California (thus the name Darius Goes West.) Along the way the took many stops and did many things including visiting Panama City, The Grand Canyon, San Fransisco, riding in a hot air balloon, and going white water rafting. The documentary shows that even if your disabled you can still do normal things. The were some downsides too, however. Many places they visited were not handicapped accessible. These places included gas stations and the Gateway Arch. Many places on the other hand are handicap accessible. One of the most surprising places is Carlsbad Caverns.

This documentary is probably one of the best I have ever seen.This documentary opened my eyes to how we must make more places handicap accesible. Even if your handicapped you still deserve to be able to go into the same places as others. It also opened my eyes on what it is like to be handicapped, but how you can still enjoy life. Darius doesn't seem to let anything get him down, even a fatal disease. This documentary is probably one of the best I have ever seen.

Snelling for Fun

2010-07-16T07:04:00.000-07:00

Article and Photo by Kaitlyn Shanks & Madison Howard

M&M TIPsters

J. Michael Floyd knows his food groups. The director of food services at UGA is responsible for feeding hungry college students during the school year, visitors on the weekends, and campers during the summer.

“We are excited about having campers here on the college campus, what it does, in the summer time there are not a lot of college students, so the campers fill the dining halls," Floyd said in an exclusive interview with two M&M TIPsters. "It gives my employees employment.” His staff is happy to entertain summer camps as many of the college students are not there to buy their product during the summer, camps help fill the empty spaces, Floyd said.

While dining services' slogan is "Let the Big Dawg Eat," during the summer months, there are Dawgs of all shapes and sizes and many non-Dawgs from all over the country who walk through the turnstiles to get their grub on.

Floyd said he enjoys his job and the camps that attend. TIPsters eat breakfast at Snelling, lunch at either Snelling or the Summit at East Campus Village and dinner at Bolton throughout the week. Snelling has won many awards and the students love the food. TIPsters in the Media and Message course liked to "Snellebrate" at lunch time. Next time you are on the UGA campus, stop by Snelling to get some good food and meet even better employees.

M&M meets WUOG

2010-07-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

By Olivia Baker
M&M TIPster

The Media & Message students took a mini field trip Thursday to the WUOG 90.5 radio station located at the University of Georgia. The students were greeted at the door by the programming director, Laura Leidner, and the operations director, Nakeem Purkiss. Laura told the students that the station has been on the air since 1972, so now they are approaching an "over the hill" age. She said that the station played all types of genres, from rock and pop to jazz and classical. Also that they have over 60 DJs and 30+ speciality radio shows.

Laura mentioned to the M&M kids about the WUOG's strong music philosophy that everyone on staff knows. "We are an alternative media outlet," she explained, "we promote artists that don't get radio play, and no one that has been charted will be played." Laura also went on to say that the station is a "training ground for students" that allows them to become more technically savvy. She told the students about how the station has no automated system, and all the members of the staff of volunteers.
The Media and Message students then went on to have our tour of the station. They were shown the staff's offices, the pile of reject Cd's, the production room where the shows are edited, the news room where the news and talk shows were held, and the wall where artists that come in and play have signed. Last but certainly not least, the kids were able to see the DJ booth, where they met DJ Max who in on his second semester of DJing. When asked what his favorite part of being a DJ was, he responded, "All the music I'm surrounded by is great." It was explained to the students how everything is free will of the DJ and they have an open selection from the box. Also that there are specialty shows and regular shows. On the way out the kids were able to pick out a CD from the "reject" box and a souvenir of either sunglasses, a yo-yo, a beach ball, etc.

Olivia Baker, 15, is a sophomore at University School of Jackson in Jackson, Tennessee.

Ladan Nekoomaram Talks Blogging, Social Media with M&M TIPsters

2010-07-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

By: Sarah Eutsler, M&M TA

Contributers: Megan Valentine, Malea Berry, Olivia Baker, and fellow M&M TIPsters

The Skype chat was connected. The big screen pulled down and boom! The face of Ladan Nekoomaram appeared in front of the Media and Message Duke TIP class at the University of Georgia.

Nekoomaram, a fellow at Radio Free Europe and avid blogger, took time out from her Tuesday afternoon to talk with the group of 16 high school students. The conversation ranged from blogging to journalism in general, but in the end provided students with a lesson on the significance of social media.

"Twitter can be used to say more than what your doing at the moment," Nekoomaram said.

Twitter, she believes, is a great launching pad for those who are serious about a career in journalism. She frequently uses her own Twitter account to connect to others in the journalism field she meets at conferences and events she covers. Twitter also becomes a promotional tool for her work.

Stories Nekoomaram writes for Radio Free Europe do not always make it on the organization’s website, so she turns to her own blog, D.C. Foreign Policy Beat, to publish them. Then she employs the assistance of Twitter to help distribute her articles.

Her savvy use of Twitter brings her attention from both her followers and connections. She’s garnered attention from The Huffington Post, which landed her blogging opportunities through their site. This summer she has provided two blog posts on internship advice.

Nekoomaram’s relationship with social media also led to a first-person account published on MSNBC’s website, where she interned last summer. In the article she discussed how Facebook became a means to stay in touch with relatives in Iran during the Iran Revolution.

A 2009 DePauw University graduate, Nekoomaram took some time to talk about training for a journalism career. She studied English writing and history at the liberal arts school, located in Greencastle, Ind. She explained that her English classes helped to develop her writing skills, something she sometimes felt gave her an edge over her classmates in American University’s Master of Arts in Journalism program.

The history “helped with understanding context,” especially when it came to Persian affairs, a particular interest of Nekoomaram’s due to her heritage. "The news doesn't give you the history [as a reporter]. You're the one who has to do the research about the issue you're talking about. You need to know your topic," she explained.

Nekoomaram also told the students that they were doing exactly the right thing: learning about digital media at a young age. "Now is the time to learn these things because you still have a little bit of that learning curve,” she said. “By the time you're graduating, you'll be expected to know these things and well, so it's best to learn them early so you won't have to play catch-up later on."

2010 Term 2 Presentations about Legacy Media

2010-07-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

The radio

View more presentations from Geoffrey Graybeal.

Televison

View more presentations from Geoffrey Graybeal.

Newspapers

View more presentations from Geoffrey Graybeal.

Film

View more presentations from Geoffrey Graybeal.

Books

View more presentations from Geoffrey Graybeal.

John Slack Doesn’t Slack

2010-07-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

Article and Photo by: Madison Howard, M&M TIPster

You may have seen an 18-year-old RC roaming the hallways checking to make sure that TIPsters stay out of mischief. His name is John Slack, and this is his first year of being an RC.
When John was younger, he was a TIPster. He attended Davidson University for two years and Duke East one year for TIP camp. After high school, John went on to Rice University in Houston, Texas and is a rising sophomore majoring in electrical engineering. But, John doesn’t brag about it, he is actually very quiet around those he doesn’t know.
John plans to be an RC next year at some Duke TIP location. When asked what his favorite part about being an RC was, he replied, “The kids.” If he had to say what the hardest part of his job was, he said, “Enforcing all of the rules. You have to be strict.”
John enjoys his job and we hope to see him again next year working at a TIP location as an RC.

Jenna Gorbatkin

2010-07-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

Article and Photo by: Madison Howard, M&M TIPster

Jenna Gorbatkin is a brown- haired RC that is familiar with her job. This is Jenna’s fourth year of being an RC for TIP. Last year, Jenna was an RC at ASU. Usually when you see Jenna she is smiling and seems to be having a good time.
Jenna was a TIPster when she was younger and she attended Duke West for two years and the Marine Lab one year. After high school, Jenna attended Georgia Tech with a major in psychology.
She just graduated college. Her favorite part about being an RC is, “The TIPsters.” Jenna is very popular among her girls. Her third and fourth year girls are very close to her and they enjoy being around her. One of the best things about Jenna is that she is very nice. Even if she is not your RC, she will help you in any way that she can. Since Jenna is twenty- one, she is now able to be a driver for TIP and makes frequent drives to the doctor’s office with students.
Even when it is early, she is always smiling when she drives you. Jenna’s RC group and many others will miss her after she leaves TIP.

“She’s really nice and always asks how we are,” said Amber Palmer, a rising freshman at East Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia. Amber has a sprained foot and often rides with Jenna either to the doctor or around campus to get from place to place.

Villainous or Misunderstood?

2010-07-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

Article and Photo by: Kaitlyn Shanks and Madison Howard, M&M TIPsters

“This class is really interesting; it lets you get into the villain’s perspective of things.” stated Elizabeth Roten, a rising freshman from Spring Hill, Tennessee. Elizabeth is taking the villains class here at UGA. The villains’ class learns about famous villains from stories and depicts their characteristics.
“ The reading and a lot of the videos we have watched in class. Discussion, I like analyzation,” said Dillon McDermott, a rising sophomore from Port Charlotte, Florida.
While we visited the class we witnessed a few of them giving their end of term projects, they were amazingly in depth and thorough. Many chose to defend the villains of popular tales and stories as they thought they had more sides to them than the original text might have explained. Maddy Longacre, a rising junior at H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, sketched and wrote out a screen play for a scene from Othello. Her project was incredibly detailed to the point where she would describe the camera angles and the shadows she would cast over the characters. Dillon, however, did something much more silly by writing a parody song of "Good Riddance" about this character that he related to.
Joe Lease from Athens, Georgia, the instructor for the Villains class, loves teaching tipsters. “I would say their enthusiasm, its much different from a typical school environment. They really get into the work and throw themselves into it.”
Overall, many students enjoyed the class and how they got into the different layers of stories and characters. Hopefully, next year, more TIPsters will enjoy this class as much as this years Tipsters did.

Austin Taylor- Jorgemsom

2010-07-02T07:00:00.001-07:00

Article by: Courtney Scoufis a Media and the Message Tipster.

Austin Taylor Jorgemsom is an RC on the third floor. This twenty-two year old RC is attending Harvard next year for his graduates degree in Boston, Massachusetts.
Austin was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He lives with his two cats and his dog named Piper.
In his free time he enjoys to play video games, shop, watch movies, and read. One of his favorite books is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel. Austin enjoys watching movies. His favorites include Casablanca, Eight and a Half, and The Wrath of God. Austin says, “Whenever I turn on the radio, I always change it to the Indie Rock channel.” Because of this, Austin spent most of the car ride up to Athens from Florida listening to Los Campesinos!. His favorite song by them is "Romance Is Boring."
When asked who he looks up to Austin replied, “My Philosophy teacher, Dr. Mike Michaelson.”
Austin was invited to attend Duke TIP, but decided not to. However when he was looking for a summer job four years ago as a freshman, his friend recommended he look into it. Austin has been an RC three times; in 2007, 2009, and 2010.

Do the John Wall

2010-07-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

Article by: Courtney Scoufis, M&M TIPster

You might have seen some Tipsters walking around singing, “John Wall,” and moving their left wrist back and forth while keeping their arm in a flexed position. If so, you’re not alone, the Media and the Message class has gone crazy over this song. How did this originate you might ask?
While reading an article that was on the News & Observers the class stumbled upon a foreign term, “Do the John Wall.” It was later Googled and after much searching a music video by Troop 41 came up. Mr. Graybeal, the Media and the Message instructor, blasted the song. It was an instant hit with the class. It has been played in the classroom multiple times and is always stuck in the student’s heads. When the Media and the Message Tipsters are singing the song, the all so catchy dance is not far behind.
The creator of the dance, John Wall, was a 6-4 point guard for the Kentucky Wildcats when he created it. It was a simple flexed arm power move that he did during his first appearance on the court. Since then it has become a phenomenon. The song that was created to go along with it by Troop 41 is on iTunes and on YouTube. You too can learn the John Wall.

“525,600 Minutes, 525,000 moments so dear”

2010-07-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

Article by: Ben Calvo and Madeline Goss, M&M TIPsters

Yes, the brochure says that Duke TIP is a rigorous academic camp that accepts only the brightest students. And that’s why the brightest minds in the southern region come together every year…LIES! Tipsters love the social aspect of the camp and some of the best parts of TIP happen during your free time. Free time is when you can be with your friends and actually act like a semi -normal teenager and not a snooty genius. So, in remembrance of our beloved free time, we have compiled a list of our recommended activities.

1) Throw a dance party: If you’re ever at a lack of words to say, why not use some body language? After all, small talk with people you don’t know very well can get awkward, but after a few fist pumps everyone’s ready to talk! And hey! Maybe some college students will drop by! ;)
2) Order Food: You already overeat at every meal, so why not just end the day with a bang! Sure, your arteries will be shouting profanities at you, but at TIP, food babies are all the rage.
3) Jam session: For those of you that are musically gifted, take some time to share your talents with your fellow tipsters. You’ll be surprised how many other people share your talent for making melodies. Those of you who aren’t musically gifted… time for more fist pumps!
4) Coloring Books: No, you’re not too old to color spongebob and Disney Princesses. So get off your high horse and grab those crayons.
5) Ballet: There is always someone playing a classical piece on the piano in the lobby. Take that time to perfect your pirouette. Guys, this means you too.
6) Pretend to be Deep: Rainy days can definitely come to UGA, and you’ll need something to do. When someone is playing a beautiful piece on the piano, sit on a couch, look out the window, and pretend to be thinking deep thoughts. This will create the illusion that you actually belong at TIP when in reality you are thinking, “If I knock a cheerleader out to get to the front of the line, would I get in trouble” or maybe, “Why are those two canoodling in front of my face?” Pretending to be thinking deep thoughts also gives you the opportunity to eavesdrop.
7) Off to the races: Have a need for speed but don’t want to go outside? The hallways at Myers hall are the perfect place for you! Hold some races to see who can make it to the end of the hall and back first. Maybe make it multi floor? If you’re really lucky, you might get the chance to test your long jump and lunge over innocent bystanders sitting in the middle of the hall!
8) Become Informed: There is always drama at TIP. And as a Tipster, it’s your job to know it all. Who broke up? Who made up? What friends are having a fight? Who decided that it was ok to ask someone out with 3 days left? Who needs Gossip Girl when you have nerd camp.
9) Call yo mama: We know, we know, you left home to get away from your mother, but she misses you and she’s probably heard about that light drizzle that rolled in early this morning and wants to know if the buildings been flooded. SO PICK UP THE PHONE FOOL!
10) Prepare for talent show: If you aren’t talented… then start early. This will give you time to FIND your talent. If you’re like us, you’ll be on the second to last day and still need to get the words to your parody down! If you have some raw talent…. LET IT SHINE! BE THE STAR YOU ARE!
11) Prepare yourself for the waterworks: Go buy a raincoat, because those last few days will be like visiting Niagara Falls. Tears will be everywhere you look, and make sure you’re prepared to shed a few thousand of your own.
12) Treasure Everything: All joking aside, TIP really is an amazing opportunity. Enjoy it for what it is. Spend every moment you can with your friends and have some real conversations as well as a few hundred thousand inside jokes. These people will forever remain in your heart and mind, and they are some of the most amazing people you will ever meet.

“How wonderful life is now you’re in the world”
-Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, Moulin rouge

Article title taken from RENT song “Seasons of Love”

Amanda

2010-07-01T15:18:00.001-07:00

Article by: Kaitlyn Shanks, M&M TIPster

“4th years are DIVAS!” This is what Amanda Johnson had to say about her R.C. group. She is a serious R.C. and she knows her way around her job because this is not her first time as a residential counselor. She led the Blue Ice team to victory this year at Dawg Fest and helped organize all the crazy campers.
“Best person I would take to Target!” screamed Alysia Anderson, a rising 11th grader at Episcopal High School in Houston, Texas. This got a round of giggles from the girls, an obvious inside joke. Amanda is loved by her ladies as she always lets them shine brightly while still making sure they do not break any TIP rules. She is always seen laughing with R.C. group, letting them make the best of their last year here as TIPsters.

Matt

2010-07-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

Article by: Kaitlyn Shanks, M&M TIPster

“Matt is a sexy beast.” This is the response Michael Lefkowitz, a rising 9th grader at Gulliver High School in Miami, Florida, felt he had to say when asked to describe his R.C., Matt.
Matt Barbara is a student at Davidson College. This twenty year old Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native is employed as an RC this summer at Duke Tip. His group of second year boys is rowdy and rambunctious, but Matt tries his hardest to keep them under control. When we asked his R.C. group what they had to say about him, although all of it was positive, most could not be printed as it referenced to things that were not appropriate.
“My R.C. group is awesome.” Matt said when asked about his R.C. group. He laughed when I told him that his description must be appropriate for TIP. This he laughed at because, well, his whole R.C. group is not appropriate for TIP.

Spreading the Message

2010-07-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

Article and Photos by: Ben Calvo, M&M TIPster

“This class has a good variety of media outlets that we get to learn about...I appreciate what I’ve learned and hope I can use it in the future.” Was what 14-year-old Brittney Vidal from Fort Worth, TX had to say about her class at Duke TIP this year. At the UGA campus, TIP offers a class called Media and the Message where students learn how to communicate and deliver news in the digital age.
When 14-year-old Adam Moore from New Port Richey, Florida was asked to describe the class, he said, “It basically got me out of the cave I was in and introduced me to different things.” Adam talked about being introduced to sites that are useful in terms of getting information out. Students learn valuable skills that can be applied to different paths of life. 14-year-old Madison Howard from Clinton, NC said, “My favorite part is the filming because I want a career in the film business.” Students took the first week of class to learn about the growth and popularity of blogs. The second week was nicknamed journalism boot camp where students wrote articles on topics that could interest local teenagers. Topics written about ranged from downtown and local camps offered to teens. Lastly, in the third week, the students wrote articles pertaining to TIP and all the wonderful experience of the campers.
For many students, their classmates were the best part of the class. “I love the people,” said 14-year-old Marissa Karp from Savannah, Georgia. “They’re all so cool.” Most of the other students agree the atmosphere of the class is a good one. The students joke around at break time and have formed a class bond and make each other feel at home. “I love the friendships I’ve made here,” said 15-year-old Abby Hunt from Tupelo, Mississippi.
This class offers students with the opportunity to view the world of the media through a different perspective. Students learn the value of giving news to the public, how to be a good journalist, and made amazing friends in the process. SUCCESS!

Social Media from TIP at UGA

2010-07-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

Graphic by Abby Hunt & Gabriela Hernandez/ M&M TIPsters

Facebook and Twitter Status Updates from TIPsters throughout Session 1.

It’s the End of the World as We Know It

2010-07-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Article and Photos by: Madeline Goss, M&M TIPster

“TIP for me is like glorified boarding school. It gets to the point where the people you meet feel like family and the dorms become your home. Every single day is different and fun- a new adventure and experience,” says Morgan Baskin
So, as much as we don’t want to face it, TIP is coming to a close, but this is not an obituary. Let us take a moment to reflect upon term 1 at UGA.
Arrival night, while some ran to greet their friends, some were thinking to themselves “’Well, this is going to be the most enjoyable three weeks ever!’ in the most sarcastic voice ever.” as Abby Hunt had, a fifteen year old from Tupelo, Mississippi. Now, on day 18, she fears the tears that are sure to be coming during the last dance.
“I love everything about TIP, especially the dances!” said fifteen year old Adrienne Cassel from Miami, Florida. We all remember the first dance, and though there were some minor speed bumps, everyone went back to Myers with the fear that their legs might fail while walking up the stairs.
Then, there was Dawg fest. Red, Orange, Pink, Green, and Blue teams came out to compete and battle for the ultimate prize… bragging rights. Of course, being the kids we are, we got a little too competitive. In the end though everyone had fun and the blue team was victorious… but no one knew that yet because Dawgfest was cut early so we could prepare for dance #2, which some people thought was more of a success than the first dance.
Now, as I write this it is Thursday of week three. Tonight is the last dance, tomorrow will be the day of tears when we say our goodbyes to TIP until next summer. TIP leaves you with a sense of worth, and a deep appreciation of friends “Some of my best friends I met at TIP” said Tori Watson, a fifteen year old from St. Louis, Missouri. It also leaves you with the gut reaction to sprint around in a circle when you hear “It’s the End of the World” by R.E.M. and to start bawling when you hear “American Pie” by Don McLean. So, take your memories home with you, and look upon them with favor, not with sadness.
Title: Lyrics from the song “It’s the End of the World” by R.E.M.

If it Pleases the Court

2010-07-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

Article By: Ben Calvo and Madeline Goss, M&M TIPsters

“Stand strait, be a presence. This is your argument and you are right.” This is Dylan Nix’s advice to an attentive student after a mock trial. Once you enter the silent court room, the atmosphere changes drastically. As silent observers, we the reporters were quite intimidated. One can only imagine the fear coursing through the students who had to present a case in front of their instructor and TA.
However, all the students agreed that mock trial was the most enjoyable part of the class. “I really like the mock trial part more than reading cases” said 14-year-old Anna Logan from Columbus, Georgia. During a mock trial, two students present their side of the case to their instructor and TA. One student is the prosecutor and the other is the defense. After both have stated their argument to the jury, they receive an evaluation from the instructor. Every student spent two weeks preparing for this case and they had two days to write their two,10 minute speeches. Students then have a day and a half to prepare their entire argument. Their arguments are expected to be 5-6 pages and are to be memorized. “I really like mock trial because it’s more hands on.” Said 15 year old Kanise Thomson from Atlanta, Georgia. Students in the class learn how to carry themselves in a court and how to present their argument in an effective manner. This helps students to improve their communication skills and express their opinions in a professional way. Some students have found that this class is excellent practice for their future careers. “I really want to go into law and that’s why I chose this class.” Said 16 year old Erin Radziwon from Coconut Creek, Florida.
When students aren’t preparing for the trial, the class reads over cases and has intense class discussions. Students study the Supreme Court and how they interpret issues and debate over them. The class also learns about moral controversies within the practice of law, such as the death penalty and the insanity plea.
Criminal Law is a great opportunity for those interested in our justice system or for a student passionate for debate and the art of persuasion. With an intense study and a rigorous schedule, this class will have students prepared for any argument coming their way.

*Here are the links to videos from the competition:
Erin Radziwon
Justin Elliot
Gabriel Fu

Robotics

2010-07-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Article and Photos by: Maddie Kim and Courtney Scoufis, M&M TIPsters

While for most students robots are something of the future, this class sees robots are a normality. These students actually build their own robots! Programming, designing, and testing are all a part of the process. Out of all of the classes, this is potentially one of the most hands-on. “The hands-on technique of learning, and it’s not really all about taking notes,” says Julie Hubschman when asked about her favorite thing about the class.
David Swanson(instructor)and Derry Roberson(TA)lead the class in exciting activities. Both are knowledgeable people with Robotics backgrounds. For the past few days they have helped the students research technology related to Robotics. These topics include electric cars, robots for the army, a robot that mows your lawn, EMILY- a motorized lifesaving device, and a new addition to the Xbox family. These projects are interesting to listen to because they seem like things of the future, but in actuality, some already exist and some are coming out as soon as the end of this year. Students talked about improvements that could be made to the products, costs, release dates, and functions of the products.
This class isn’t all work though. The students took a fieldtrip to Georgia Tech in Atlanta to study the robotics program. “It was very interesting and fun, seeing the humanoids,” says Julie Hubschman, Robotics TIPster and Fourth Year.They saw some of the robots that they are working on like the Robo-lawnmower. Devon Myers said, “I had so much fun on the fieldtrip, it was really neat.”
The students learned a lot throughout this course. “I’ve learned things I never thought a robot could do,” says Julie Hubschman, a Robotics student. Not only have students learned, but they’ve also had fun. “Most of the time you’re just messing around with a robot, trying to make it better,” says Luke Portera, a Robotics student. A lot of students would say that Robotics is the future.
No one knows where the Robotics students will be in several years.“I want to do something with technology and robotics,” says Max Kennard, Robotics student. Thanks to the instructor and TA, these Robotics students will go far. “It’s very lucky that I’ve been here because, you know, I get to play with toys all day,” jokes Kai Charles, a Robotics student.

Introduction to Veterinary Medicine

2010-07-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

By: Kaitlyn Shanks and Brittney Vidal, M&M TIPsters

As we entered the small hallway of the veterinary medicine lab, we were anxious to see the dissection of the pig eye. Early in the classroom we sat invisible to the students, while they went over the procedure and the different parts of the eye. The class was excited but not nervous; they have done many dissections before.
Thirty-two white and blue latex gloves were snapped on as the students surrounded a black top lab table and the dissection kits were handed out. Sixteen students divided up into teams of two or three as they prepared to start this somewhat daunting task. We started setting up our equipment as they got out the silver trays and lined them with paper towels. Next, they received their tools: scalpels, scissors, and a pointer.
“The dissections.” Hunter Selton, a rising 9th grader at Episcopal High School in Fernandina Beach, Florida answered immediately when asked what his favorite part of the class was. Many students agree with him as they can learn a lot from hands on activities.
“My favorite part of this class is all the hands on experience that we’re getting…” Arianna Evans, a rising 11th grader at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida explains. She loves the science classes offered at Duke TIP, and even though she is not interested in becoming a vet, she enjoys the class.
“I would say, probably, hearing from the experts, umm, I know a lot about stuff in general but we have got some really good experts here at UGA that have come in and talked to the kids about their specialties”. This is what Cassandra Peterson had to say when asked what she thought was her student’s favorite part of the class. Ms. Peterson is in veterinary school, she will complete her degree in two years. Ms. Peterson is from St. Joseph Illinois. She loves teaching the TIPsters. “I love working with these kids, they are all excited!”
Though this class has its golden moments, it also has its time in the trenches. When asked what his least favorite part about the class was Hunter Selton said,” The hardest part, umm, is maybe the, uhh, research projects.” Many students responded to this question similarly.
The students all said “Yes” when asked if they were happy with their overall class. Congratulations to Ms. Peterson and her TA, Mark, for running a successful class.

Spencer Scarvey

2010-07-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Article and Photo by: Maddie Kim, M&M TIPster

Spencer Scarvey, a Pharmacology major at UGA, has always looked up to her younger sister who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 9. However, what she may not know is that she herself is considered a role model amongst her RC group. “She is awesome,” says Angelina, one of Spencer’s girls. Spencer always makes sure to keep her group together. She makes RC group nights fun. Spencer is from Salisbury, North Carolina. She likes to work out, sleep, go out with friends, and read. Spencer’s favorite TV show is House, and her favorite movie is the Lion King. Her favorite music is Top 40. Her favorite place in the entire world is Charlestown Beach, North Carolina, but she enjoys being at TIP too. “We love Spencer,” says Morgan Godfrey, one of Spencer’s girls.

Patrick Howell

2010-07-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

Article and Photo by: Maddie Kim, M&M TIPster

Patrick Howell, a 22 year old Emory graduate, would describe himself as lazy, smart, and easy-going. “I think Patrick is really cool and smart. He’s not lazy though,” says Ben Calvo, a fifteen year old boy in Patrick’s RC group, “He enforces the rules like an RC should, but he also has fun too.” Patrick’s ideal idea of fun would include foreign countries (he’s a student at UGA working to get his masters in International Relations). He also enjoys reading and video games, but here at TIP, Patrick enjoys RC bonding time. His boys would describe him as “awesome”, “funny”, and “nice”. “Patrick is a good guy. He makes my experience at Duke TIP very enjoyable,” says Adam Moore, another one of Patrick’s boys.
Patrick can’t help but grin as he thinks of his awesome RC group!

Jessie Trawick

2010-07-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

Article and Photos by: Maddie Kim, M&M TIPster

Jessie Trawick, a 19 year old Davidson student, went to Duke TIP as a high-schooler. The girls in Jessie’s RC group think that the fact that just a couple years ago Jessie was one of the TIPsters is part of what makes her such a good leader. Jessie understands the girls and always makes it a priority to be there for them. For example, at dinner, grabbing a table with a seat for everyone is Jessie’s #1 job. Jessie won’t hesitate to give up her chair for one of her girls. Jessie has one older sister and one older brother, but despite the fact that she has always been the youngest child, Jessie is like a big sister to the girls in her group. “Jessie always helps me when I lock myself out- even after the 7th time,” says Liv Hall (age 14) one of Jessie’s group members. Jessie is a funny girl who enjoys reading Pride and Prejudice. She loves to collect frogs. Jessie is from Tucker, Georgia. She’s always in for a good time, despite her shy tendencies. Once you get to know her, Jessie will never fail to make you smile. “Jessie is awesome!” exclaims Jessie’s #1 fan, Selena.

With her bright red hair and contagious smile, it’s hard not to notice her!

My Camp Smart

2010-07-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

Michael Sheehy

2010-07-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

Article by: Landon Willey, M&M TIPster

Michael Sheehy, or Mike, as his RC group calls him, is a 20-year-old college student at the University of Notre Dame. This year is his first at UGA as a Residential Counselor, but not his first year overall. He was an RC at Kansas prior to UGA. Mike came to UGA as a result of persuasion from his friends here at UGA. Mike played baseball in high-school, and he religiously follows the Detroit Tigers. He lives, in his words, “Just outside of Detroit.”
Mike is the RC of a mixed group of 2nd and 3rd-year guys. The day after move-in-day, it was clear that this year was to be one full of inside jokes and great memories. His RC group is notorious for attempting to break rules in the presence of Mike in order to mess with him. When asked of Mike, Dillon McDermott stated “Mike is the best RC I’ve had in my three years at TIP.” An overwhelming consensus from his group states the same. The main reason why Mike is so liked is the fact that he is a laid-back RC who is virtually “one of the guys”.

Julie Stalcup

2010-07-01T08:29:00.001-07:00

Article by: Landon Willey, M&M TIPster

Julie Stalcup is a 19-year-old Residential Counselor here at Duke TIP in Athens, Georgia. She is the RC for a group of 3rd-year girls who live on the 2nd-floor. She was a TIPster herself when she was a teenager as well, so she knows the ropes. She once spent seven months in Hong Kong while her dad was teaching there. She's from Statesboro, Georgia and attends school at Emory University in Atlanta. When asked of Julie, her RC, Abby Hunt stated “I love her. She’s amazing and she’s so much fun to mess with.” As can clearly be seen, Julie is obviously a fun person to be around.

Dining Halls

2010-07-01T08:25:00.001-07:00

Article and Photos by: Brittney Vidal and Courtney Scoufis, M&M TIPsters

Snelling Dining Hall, on the University of Georgia campus, is a great place to enjoy some great food and hang out with friends. College students dine at Snelling regularly during the fall and spring, but over the summer, the building is shared between the college students and the hundreds of campers that come from all of the different summer camps that are held on the UGA campus. For the Duke TIP campers, Snelling provides breakfast and lunch on weekdays. For these meals, the campers have a wide variety of foods to choose from, including pizza from Giorgio’s Pizza, or something grilled at the Sanford Grill. Many of the TIPsters (Duke TIP campers) say that they like Snelling because of the smiles that all of the employees wear on a daily basis. “I like the food at Snelling and how happy the workers are,” said 14-year-old TIPster, Jacob Pereira.
Out of the three dining halls that TIPsters eat at, Bolton is referred to by many as the worst. Bolton is the dining hall that all TIPsters attend for dinner and on the weekends for every meal. “ It’s just way too small,” says TIPster Marissa Karp. Bolton may have a three story layout but it is always flooded with other camps which make it difficult to find a table that sits your whole RC group and makes lines extremely long.
Not one to dwell on the negative, 2nd year TIPster Madison Howard believes that the ice cream at Bolton is the best. Maddie Kim, a 2nd year TIPster from Atlanta, Georgia enjoys eating the fish sticks at Bolton. However, she dislikes the inefficiency of the food lines.
Summit, a dining hall on the east side of campus, is attended by only a couple of Duke TIP classes for lunch. Most students that attend this dining hall believe that it’s the best. The layout of the dining hall is considered nicest. However, some students consider the staff at Snelling nicer. The difference between Summit and Snelling is that Summit has a salad bar with fresh toppings and a wide variety of healthy foods. Snelling has a salad bar but it’s not nearly as big as the one at Summit.
When asked why it’s considered the best Angela McHugh said, “Its tastes better and there’s more variety.” TIPster Chandler Hickman said, “It has the best food and the nicest, like, place.”

TraTIPtion

2010-07-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

Article and Photos by: Maddie Kim, M&M TIPster
A lot of people would say that Duke TIP is about tradition. For example, at the end of dances everyone sways back in forth in a huge circle around the dance floor. Fourth years sway in a smaller circle within the large circle. We normally do this during traditional TIP songs like “Save Tonight”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, and “American Pie”.
Another thing that Fourth years do is fourth year wills. This is basically a collection of treasured memories and inside jokes that the Fourth years want to pass down to younger TIPsters before they leave the Duke TIP program for good. It’s a way to keep the good times alive. Fourth years will also adopt second years and third years, who are the babies of the program.
Another tradition is some sort of a field day. Normally it is hosted on the second Saturday of TIP. At ASU, it is called Pittfest. At KU, it is called Swampfest. Here at UGA, it is called Dawgfest. Dawgfest is a series of events where teams compete to be the champion of the TIPsters. This year the five teams were pink, red, orange, green, and blue. It normally involves water balloons and lots of spirit!
The last day of the term is normally a sad occasion for the TIPsters. 2nd and 3rd years are allowed to stay awake until 1:30 AM. However, 4th years are allowed to stay up until 3 o’clock and then go to IHOP for food. Being their last time ever at TIP, 4th years are normally teary during their final goodbyes.

Tessa, Girl!

2010-07-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Article by: Madison Howard, M&M TIPster

If you are attending TIP at UGA this year, you may have seen an RC with long, beautiful, blond-haired RC that may remind you of a TIPster. Tessa is a nineteen-year-old tennis player who attends the University of Notre Dame in Indiana when she is not working here at TIP. This is her second year working at UGA for TIP.
Tessa was a TIPster when she was younger and attended camp all four years. She became an RC because she was looking for a summer job. “I always thought being an RC would be cool, but I was so young and didn’t look that far into the future.”
Tessa’s mom is from Spain, but if you look at Tessa without knowing this, you would never guess that she is Spanish. She speaks fluent Spanish and is going to Spain after TIP. Tessa attended a private boarding school in Barcelona through high school.
She is very popular among TIP students. Everyone enjoys her company and she is nice and helpful to everyone, including people who aren’t in her RC group. People refer to her RC group as, “Tessa’s girls.” Many inside jokes are shared between Tessa and her girls. Tessa will be missed by all TIPsters who attend camp this year.
“Tessa is such a sweet RC.”- Kaitlyn Shanks, a 14 year old freshman from Houston, Texas
“Tessa is amazing. Wink- face.” -Landon Willey, a 15 year old sophomore from Sebring, Florida.

Pharmacology Class

2010-07-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

Article by: Amber Palmer, M&M TIPster

“Okay, you need to press it to your finger firmly, and then just click it. It might hurt, but that’s okay.” This is what we hear as we walk into the Pharmacology class of Duke TIP. “That didn’t hurt. I was expecting, ‘hey, there’s a needle stabbing into my skin, it hurts,’ but no.” After a few moments of intense concentration, there is a triumphant call of, “115!” The students are doing a hands-on experiment during their evening study session after learning about Diabetes and its effects on the body. They are taking their own blood glucose levels to see into a little bit of the daily lives of diabetics. “It’s an important skill to have,” their TA Jen says of testing the blood sugar. “You may have the disease some day, or you might have to help somebody who has it, and then you’ll have some experience with it. It’s good to know if a drug is working, and you won’t know unless you test it.”

Only half the class was there, since the other half was working on independent projects for part of the hour. There are fourteen students total in the Pharmacology class, and they all seem to love it. “It’s a great class!” exclaims AnnaMarie Koehler-Shepley, one of the students. “We do a lot of hands-on things, and [the class] gives us a lot of real life application.” The only real downside is having three different classrooms to learn in, and switch class throughout the day.

The average day for Pharmacology students starts with a “lecture” on the background information concerning what they will be learning throughout the day. Then, they have a short break and it’s back to learning, this time from a video. After lunch, they will usually have a lab coinciding with the things they learned earlier in the day. They finish up with reading articles until the end of class. When they aren’t stabbing themselves with needles, evening study can include anything from playing games to reading. “We study a lot about the systems that drugs interact with, and recently we’ve been learning about the physiological effects on the body,” says AnnaMarie.

Katie Seaman, one of the fourteen students, says her favorite part about the class is, “doing experiments. Definitely.” These experiments sometimes include dissecting pregnant rats and their babies. During this lab, the students were learning about the organs involved in metabolizing, and one of the rats had babies which were cut open as well.

Pharmacology students learn about nearly everything medical; any drug, any medicine, any disease. This includes one student’s favorite subject to learn about: abuse drugs. These are the addictive drugs that countless people get involved with. AnnaMarie explains, “It’s a widespread issue, and it affects so many people. They get hooked from just trying it, and it’s cool to know how it works so we won’t [get hooked].” Pharmacology is a great class, and all the students love it.

Maggie

2010-07-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

Article by: Courtney Scoufis, M&M TIPster

You have probably seen this twenty-two-year-old, tall, blonde RC around campus. This RC is Maggie Hereford; an RC for the Cowgirls on the third floor. Maggie is a graduate of Rice University, and she majored in Architecture.
This RC was once a Duke Tipster herself; she took Architecture at Kansas University in 2003.
Her RC group loves her. Gabriela Hernandez says, “She’s really cool and nice .”
Maggie was born in and lives in Pensacola, Florida. She enjoys soaking up some sun by going to the beach and being outside in general. She also loves to shop and play with her Yorkie-Poodle Maisy.
This RC enjoys playing the piano and listening to music. Her favorite artists are Brittney Spears and Dispatch. Her favorite songs by Dispatch include Flying Horses and Steeples. Likewise her favorite movie is Almost Famous, and she enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series.
She is excited for the school year because she will be teaching at Brown Barge Middle School. For the future, she said she is pretty much open to anything that comes her way.

Ouch! My ACL!

2010-07-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

Article and Photos by: Madison Howard, M&M Tipster

This year, Duke Tip offered a Sports Medicine Class. Sixteen lucky students get to learn about sports injuries every day. Here is what happened on June 30, 2010.
Dr. Kristina Black, a clinic and emergency room physical therapist, came to speak to the class. She attended Dunwoody High School and attended college here at UGA. She then moved to Colorado and became a doctor. Originally, sports medicine and orthopedics were not here first choice for a job.
After going through training she decided that it actually was something she wanted to do as a job every day. She talked about injuries that she had witnessed over her years of being a doctor. She works in a hospital and clinic on the bottom of a ski slope in Colorado.
When asked what the most common injury is for skiers she replied, “A torn ACL, definitely. The ligament is really easily torn.” An ACL is a ligament in your knee that is very painful to tear and can cause much damage. In a normal case, there would be six months of physical therapy for a torn ACL. Snowboarders are a very different story. Snowboarders usually tear something in or dislocate their shoulders.
Nine fatalities occurred at the hospital she works at in the last year. Dr. Black works a ten hour day, four times a week. She sees a new patient about every forty minutes. Kristina usually sees around fourteen patients a day in the clinic, but the ER is erratic and the number of patients change every day. In the ER, a patient will always see a physician before seeing her, because she is a physical therapist. That happens mostly because of the MRI. MRIs cost from $1500 to $2000. The physician determines if the patient needs one or not and Dr. Black checks to make sure that the physician’s judgment is correct.
Dr. Black works frequently with post-op patients. She enjoys this because of the attitude challenges she often faces. When people lose their mobility they are often bitter and don’t want to undergo physical therapy. But, Kristina encourages them to continue to try so they may gain some of their mobility back.
Dr. Black is lucky to work with some outstanding physicians. A close worker performed surgery on A-Rod, a famous New York Yankees baseball player. A-Rod had hip surgery to prevent arthritis and to repair some of the ligaments in his hip. Kristina helped Lindsey Vonn, a famous skier, with her agility training. Since Lindsey goes up to seventy to ninety miles per hour, she has to have help from a doctor to prevent injury.
Another patient that she discussed was a twenty- two year old male that was a paraplegic. He broke his neck while diving into a lake. Your neck is divided into sections; he broke the parts of his neck called C3 and C4. C4 is near strands that connect the brain to the body, that is why the man became a paraplegic. He could only move his head and was on a ventilator for a few months. Gradually he began to gain some movement back into his body. By the end of her time working with him, he could move his arm forward and backward. This made driving an electronic chair easier, because when he first got the chair, he controlled it by a special straw that he blew into.
Dr. Kristina Black believes that possibly, in twenty years, science will have evolved more, and being paraplegic could be cured or could be much less severe due to new treatments and medicines.
To be a physical therapist, you must be strong. Lifting patients that don’t have any mobility is not easy; having stregnth makes it easier and faster.
The sports medicine class had finished a debate about football the day before Dr. Black was to speak. When asked if she thought football should be banned, she replied, “No, I don’t think football should be banned. I don’t know what I would do on Saturday nights if UGA didn’t have a football team. But, I do think football should have more penalties. Football is certainly a dangerous sport.”
Dr. Black then said her goodbyes. After this riveting discussion with Dr. Black I interviewed Madeline Taylor, a 14 year old rising freshman from San Antonio, Texas. This is her second year with the Duke Tip program; she attended ASU last year. When asked what her favorite part of the sports medicine class was, she replied, “I like the anatomy part.” This class was originally Madeline’s second choice, but she believes she likes this class better than she would her first choice. Madeline’s first choice was veterinary medicine. She likes her teacher and TA and thinks that, “The things we learn are cool. I find medicine very interesting.”

All the Sides of Dawgfest

2010-06-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

Article by Brittney Vidal, M&M TIPster
Photos by Maddie Kim, M&M TIPster

This past weekend, TIPsters participated in Dawgfest. Dawgfest is a TIP field day where multiple teams compete in a series of events to become TIP champions. This year there were five teams- Orange, Red, Green, Pink, and Blue. Each team was required to come up with a team name and a team-cheer. Below are the interviews with one member from each team.
Madeleine Kim (Maddie) was part of the orange team, the Orange Mongeese. When asked why they chose that name, Maddie replied, “We wanted something goofy and funny. We also wanted it to rhyme with a lot of things for an easy cheer.” Unfortunately the other teams didn’t have as good of a strategy in Maddie’s opinion. She thought that the Red team’s cheer was creepy, and that the blue team’s was interesting, but not everyone knew it. The pink team’s was unmemorable, except for the gymnastics stunt at the end. Green had cool costumes, but it was uncreative. “We were loud and proud!” Maddie says about the cheer she made up for the Orange team. Maddie participated in the Watermelon relay, beach ball relay, and the water balloon relay. Her favorite event to watch was the Seven Seas because it involved people getting hit by flying water balloons. “If we didn’t win, we sure as anything got second. We kicked butt!” says high spirited Maddie. “Go Orange Mongeese!”
Red team member, Emma Lawson shared her thoughts about Dawgfest. She was part of the Red Army, a joke about communism. Her reason for choosing the name “Red Army” was that the guys in her group were obsessed with Russian accents; they wanted to have a silly reference to Russia in their cheer. When asked about the other teams’ cheers, Emma’s reply was, “I thought they were a lot more creative than ours.” Emma participated in the cheesy puff toss and the water balloon relay. In her opinion, rock tree bridge was the most entertaining event to watch. The Dawgfest was a fun day for Emma, however she did not feel that her team was the champion.
The Green Reptars was the name chosen by the Green team. Lorenzo Bright was a member of this team. Lorenzo talks about his fun filled day at Dawgfest. Lorenzo enjoyed watching the other teams’ cheers, but he had to agree that the Reptars were the best. Lorenzo was a part of the beach ball relay and rock, tree, bridge. His favorite event to watch was the watermelon relay. As an extra question, I asked how he felt about the blue teams disqualification from several events; he replied, “I laughed. I thought it was hilarious!” Never one to be put in a bad mood, Lorenzo stayed confident and positive as the green team won only one event.
Very competitive member of the Pink Flamingos, Keaton McManamy had a lot of fun during Dawgfest. As a third year, he enjoyed the traditional events that Dawgfest always hosts. His thoughts about other teams’ cheers were, “They were good. Green was my favorite other than ours.” Keaton participated on rock-tree-bridge, the pudding feed, and the four legged race. Even though he didn’t participate in the seven seas, it was his favorite event because of the water involved. Keaton is very sentimental and enjoys TIP traditions. He was very disappointed when frisbee was cancelled due to lack of time. Fortunately, Keaton believes that his team either got second or first. He anxiously awaits the results.
Keridan Ogletree was a member of the blue team called Blue Ice. “Brittney, my good friend came up with the name,” says Keridan, “she is like in love with Vanilla Ice and she wanted to be able to do the Ice Ice Baby dance.” Keridan participated in the watermelon relay and rock tree bridge. Her favorite event to participate in was the cheers. “Ours was awesome. Everyone else’s was lame. We put a lot of effort into ours and theirs was just FAIL!” says Keridan. Always one to be competitive Keridan was disappointed about the many event cancellations. Though not everything went as planned, Keridan had a good time talking and hanging out with friends. “It was so much fun. I felt so motivated,” Keridan expresses. The downside of the day was that it was extremely hot, sweaty, and dirty. Still, Keridan always finds a way to have fun. She believes that she rocked her events and can’t wait to find out who the champion is.
After interviewing people from each team I would have to say that, as always, Dawgfest was a success. The students had fun in a safe, competitive environment and many made memories of a lifetime. Though not everything went as planned the TIPsters didn’t let that get them down. It was a great day and one of TIPs best ongoing traditions.

George

2010-06-30T12:48:00.001-07:00

Article by: Landon Willey, M&M TIPster

George Ling was born in 1988 in Miami Beach, Florida. He now works as a Residential Counselor at the Duke TIP summer program at UGA in Athens, Georgia. As Residential Counselor, George has been assigned a group of TIPsters, or teenagers attending TIP, to take watch over. He is responsible for this group's safe journey from Myers hall to the Bolton Dining Facility every evening for dinner. He is also required to host evening activities nearly every night, unless something came up to prevent him from hosting an event, of course. George has hosted a myriad of events, such as ninja-killer. In evening activity, George receives a group of TIPsters, whom he instructs to participate in whatever this event entails.
George’s RC group are the fourth year male TIPsters. As can be expected over the course of three weeks, much camaraderie has been formed between the group and George. When asked what he thought of his RC group, George replied “They are awesome”. Through hanging out around the fourth year guys, one can easily see the love they feel for George. They constantly badger him in admittedly creative ways, but always in a joking manner. No doubt, whenever this RC group has its nightly meetings, it must be a sight to see.

TIP @ UGA 2010 Term 1 Multimedia Presentations

2010-06-30T11:53:00.001-07:00

Click on the links below to view other soundslides.

Ben Calvo

Amber Palmer, Courtney Scoufis, Kristina, Madison

Landon Willey, Abby Hunt, Zack Mahoney

Samantha

2010-06-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

Article and Photo by: Courtney Scoufis, M&M TIPster

Samantha Brooks is an RC for a group of girls on the third floor. This twenty year old is a student majoring in English at the University of Florida. English isn’t good enough for Sam; she has also learned to speak Spanish and Japanese. She says that she frequently goes on foreign language sites to practice the languages. She hopes that she will be able to study abroad in Japan to practice her skills.
Samantha was born in West Boca, Florida. When she was 14 she moved to Pembroke Pines, Florida, and she currently resides there when she is not studying at University of Florida.
Samantha enjoys to salsa, write, travel, fence, and read in her free time. Some of her favorite books include House of the Spirits and Tithe. Likewise, she enjoys listening to music. Some of her favorite bands/artists include Mark Anthony, 3 Days Grace, Tiempo Libre, and Motion City Soundtrack. Her favorite movie is Crazy Beautiful.
This RC was also a Duke Tipster. She attended From Wonderland to Hogwarts in 2004, Short Fiction Workshop in 2004. Past is Present the Evolution of Literature, High Spirits in 2006, and Field Studies in Mexico for Creative Writing in 2007. She said she came back because, “I wanted to give what I received.” She certainly has.
A member of her group Marissa Karp said, “She’s the best RC I’ve ever had.”

Broken Camp Experience

2010-06-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

Article by: Amber Palmer,M&M TIPster
Photo by: Brittany Vidal, M&M TIPster

OK, well some of you know that a student at Duke Tip at UGA was injured during the term and wound up with a cast on her foot. Well, that was my foot, it is now my cast, and it was most definitely me who got hurt. Granted, there are some bad parts, but don't you dare think it's all bad, just because I can't walk, can't get my own food, can't even go to the bathroom without getting someone else to open the doors for me. There are some good things.
For example, I get to ride in a car to get absolutely everywhere; to class, to meals, sometimes even to evening activities. I have been in every car in the camp and can name every one: Woodstock, Diddy Kong, Ed McMahon, Watson, Scrappy Doo, O'Brian (who hates me), Jane Lane, and Vanna White. I feel very accomplished, because how many TIPsters can say they have ridden in- and memorized the names of- every single car at Duke TIP at UGA? Also, I know who I want to ride around with. For example, Austin drivers kind of crazily; Greg pulls up straight to the front door (because if the pizza guy can do it, he can do it, too) but he listens to The River (bleh); and most of the girls can't drive the larger cars very well (the guys can't either, but they at least pretend they can).
For some reason, people are way more helpful when you can't do things for yourself. They open doors for me, move out of the way, or at least try to avoid being hit by my crutches... that kind of thing. I guess I'm way more intimidating with crutches than without. Another perk is that I've made a lot of new friends since I've gotten hurt, as well. Well, that's kind of the point of going to camp, and I probably would have been friends with them anyway, but this is way more fun. For example, all the office workers know my first, last and middle names and I usually don't have to wait very long for pills.
Another good thing is that I sometimes get to miss parts of class. I show up late occasionally, and have to leave a bit early for the cars to pick me up, and then there are things like doctor's appointments that allow me to sleep in late and miss an entire morning of class. If the appointments take too long, I can get real food for lunch instead of cafeteria food.
Unfortunately, there are some bad parts (obviously). This is my first year at TIP, so I have nothing to compare with, and this (my foot) will probably be one of the few things I remember about the camp in a couple years. Also, crutches absolutely stink. It's hard to get around, and the showers are so small that they can give me trouble, as well. As I mentioned earlier, I can't get through a door without help (although I am learning, or trying to, anyway), and when I leave in the morning (late because I don't go to breakfast) no one is usually around, and can get kind of difficult.
All around, I'm having a bit of fun with the whole hurt foot thing, the cast will be gone before I go back to school, and I can deal with it. However, I do NOT recommend breaking your foot during camp, especially if this is your first year.

Wonders Of the Brain

2010-06-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Article and Picture by Ben Calvo and Madeline Goss,M&M TIPsters

“I would not change anything about my class. It’s just that fun.” Victoria “Tori” Watson, a 15 year old TIPster from St. Luis, Missouri says when asked to describe her class
This year at UGA, the TIP program offered a class called “The Brain, Intelligence and Creativity”. The class is an intense study on the human brain and its function and the diseases that can occur within it. While many TIP students would be scared at the intensity and the workload of the class, students participating in it assure that the class is well worth it.
“The teacher is really good and I like what I’m learning” said Natalie Waino, a 15 year old TIPster from Florida
We observed, during our trip to the class, that the students seem extremely comfortable with their teacher Desi. Tori Watson, Natalie Waino and Adrienne Cassel all agreed that their favorite part of the class is their instructor. Tori Watson said, “She finds ways to bring in people to talk about it so it’s not always the same thing every day.” Students are also fond of their TA Ryan. “He always finds fun activities for evening study,” said Tori.
While most would jump to the conclusion that the class is a hard core science class, Tori says that “the class is open for interpretation.” In addition to learning about how the brain works, students learn and observe how people think and view the world. Debates and discussions are a regular part of the class, and these range from ethical issues and arguments on why things are the way they are. Students also read articles pertaining to new sciences and discoveries surrounding the brain, have group discussions, and as a treat, they regularly watch Freaks and Geeks, a comedy show that the whole class enjoys.
Students also love the activities that come with the class. Natalie Waino and Adrienne Cassel agree that their favorite activity that they have done is the dissection of the sheep brain. Another activity that the class has done is a hallucination exercise where the subject will tape two ping-pong halves over their eyes, and stare into them. The brain, presented with a white plane, will try to place something in front of it, creating a hallucination.
The Brain class provides TIP students with an amazing opportunity to study one of the most complex organs in our body, but allows them to do it in a non conventional way and encourages them to have fun with it. Future TIP students should most definitely consider this class.

Thank Ja'Nelle Simpson

2010-06-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

Article by: Amber Palmer, M&M TIPster
Photo by: Geoffrey Graybeal, M&M Instructor

ATTENTION ALL TIPSTERS!

Did you know that every time you walk to breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you have Ja'Nelle Simpson to thank for it? Do you even know who Ja'Nelle Simpson is? Well, you should. She works in the office, and helps to coordinate just about everything at camp.

Originally from Durham, North Carolina, Ja'Nelle spent most of her childhood in Durham. For college, she went to school at the University of Florida before going to work for a manufacturing company. She worked there until this year. Ja'Nelle was at Duke TIP at UGA last year, as well. Starting in August of this year, she will be a grad student at the University of Southern California, to study higher education administration. When she is finished with this, she says, she doesn't want to run a school, just help with the administration process. She said she chose the school because it is in a big city and she had never lived in one. Also, she likes the warm weather in addition to the campus atmosphere.

Here at TIP, Ja'Nelle is the operations coordinator. "Basically, that just means office manager," she tells the Media and Message class. She worked here last year in a successful attempt to "beat the system," since she was invited to TIP as a teenager, but didn't come. This is Ja'Nelle's second year as operations coordinator, and she came back for experience, which she believes will help her immensely in the coming years of school. She likes the UGA campus and thinks it’s a really good place for a program like TIP, due to a large amount of activities available on or around the campus.

Ja’Nelle’s main job is office work, but she also organizes field trips, evening activities, and routes to and from meals. She deals with sick kids and anxious parents who don’t accept generic answers about their children (i.e. “I’m sure your child is perfectly alright”). About ten to fifteen parents call the office per day, and about seven or eight kids get sick and go to the clinic each week.
Added to all her other responsibilities, Ja’Nelle drives and names the TIPcars. Last year, her assistant named the cars after the kids from Jon and Kate plus Eight, and Ja’Nelle was not very happy. This year, they are sidekicks. The names include Woodstock, Watson, Diddy Kong, and Scrappy Doo. “I just wanted to name a car Diddy Kong,” said Ja’Nelle.

Every day is extremely busy for the office workers. The morning usually include tracking down students who are sick or may have overslept, getting medication to students, and transporting hurt students to their classes. Afternoons are filled with finishing projects from previous days and getting ready for evening activities. After that, Ja’Nelle is free to do pretty much whatever she wants.

The office staff shows up two weeks before the campers. That’s a week before even the RCs, TAs, and instructors have to be here! That time is spent setting up the camp and office, training RCs, and getting ready for the campers. Then, after Term 1, they get just five days off before coming back to set up for Term 2. They retrain returning RCs, train new ones, and brace themselves for the next round of campers. Term 2 is supposed to be easier, since the staff knows what to do, but “things just pop up” when you work in the office.

Since Ja’Nelle is the main person in the office, she has a lot of people under her, mostly inexperienced RCs. When things aren’t done right, Ja’Nelle never gets mad at them. “I get more frustrated at myself for not explaining things well enough,” Ja’Nelle said. And things do get frustrating, especially with departure flights and changing things in the middle of camp.

The easiest and most fun part of the day, according to Ja’Nelle, is the evening activities, which she loves to be a part of. She drives groups of students to their destination, and gets to participate in the activity. Ja’Nelle’s best memory of evening activities was an RC group night, when they went to a park. There was a tire swing that Ja’Nelle was thrilled to play on. “I love tire swings,” she told our class, “It was just a really happy moment in time.”

15 Things They Don’t Tell You at Duke TIP Orientation

2010-06-30T08:33:00.001-07:00

Article by Kaitlyn Shanks and Courtney Scoufis, M&M TIPsters

1) You will never have enough clothing
2) You will always forget something
3) The busses will run over you.
4) You will always have to pull up more chairs at meals.
5) You will laugh until you cry at least once over the term
6) You will always be tired.
7) Having an orange lanyard is not always a good thing
8) You will need to learn to respond to “The shoe lace camp”.
9) You will forget your key at least once.
10) You will always need more than one dryer session.
11) You will cry on the last night of camp.
12) There will always be a line for laundry and ice cream.
13) A rock will be more comfortable than your bed.
14) The boy’s hallways will always smell.
15) Do not drop trash down the center staircase.

Fo Po, Fo Sho

2010-06-30T08:32:00.001-07:00

Article by Courtney Scoufis and Landon Willey, M&M TIPsters

We walked into the American Foreign Policy Tuesday morning to see two groups of TIPsters on opposite sides of the classroom; both avidly debating. The topic? To make a North American Union out of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This Union would be similar to the European Union. The students were divided into two groups. Each group had three delegates from each country. In each group, there was conflict between delegates from other countries and between delegates from the same country. In order for something to get passed, two of the three countries had to agree to it in the group. The two groups were given three possible results to shoot for in the negotiations and were told to “try for the one which would benefit them the best.” The options given to them were: Mutual Cooperation, Supernational Government, or a North American State. As expected, each option had its own drawbacks and highlighte. A Mutual Cooperation would not be very formal or strict, which in itself sounds a little…sketchy. A Supernational Government would require America, Mexico, and Canada to recognize each other under the same government, but they still would remain separate countries. A North American State would be a virtual super country, resulting in a single country occupying the entire North American Continent.
Group one decided to name their alliance the North American Tri-National Alliance (NATA for short.) A delegate of Canada, Elena Woods, a rising freshman, said that her country wanted a this agreement so they could discuss pressing topics such as, “the economy, and matters of states such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.” She said they are trying to stabilize their economy and get a larger position on the world stage. United States delegate Sam Gray, a rising tenth grader said that, “the United States wants to have Canada and Mexico as allies. Also so they would have some influence on what goes on in the other countries. Gray said that the countries could also help each other out economically and that Canada and the USA could help fight the Drug Cartel in Mexico.” Morgan Baskin, a delegate from Mexico, agreed with Gray in the fact that Mexico wanted Canada and the USA as allies.
The ending result for NATA was well thought out and was agreed to by all the countries. Woods admitted, “[Our] plans were basically the same.” The debate for group one resulted in having the central banking system in Montreal. The meeting locations would change between Washington DC, Mexico City, and Ottawa. The capitol would be in Chicago due to its location and the fact the Mexico has stability issues says that it couldn’t handle it. The government time would be a semi-presidency or as tenth grader Keaton McManamy put it, “democracy parliamentary congress.” All of the countries agreed to converting the Peso and Canadian Dollar to the United States Dollar over the time span of five years. This is to “make sure the Peso[and Canadian Dollar] are prepared to move on to the dollar,” said McManamy.
Group number two was the source of many interesting quotes. Canada and America had negotiated each other to an agreement supporting a Supernational Government, and Mexico was heatedly contesting the vote, supporting a North American State. In the midst of the debate, I managed to ask Josh Stallings, a Canadian representative, what he thought of the option the Mexican’s proposition, to which he replied, “It’s not gonna happen.”
In the end, Group number two decided upon a Supernational Government. And, through extensive diplomacy and negotiation, the Canadians and Americans managed to get the Mexicans on board. Daniel Sweat of the Mexicans stated, “Through graceful influencing from Canada, we’ve decided on option number two” which was the Supernational Government. Mexico stated that they agreed to the change, “In order for equal prosperity and development of all nations of North America [and] in order to insure a better future.”

Megan

2010-06-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

Article and Photo by: Kaitlyn Shanks, M&M TIPster

“Megan is the lighting bolt to a dark sky! In a good way!” Brittney exclaimed,“She is the sweetest, nicest, funniest, cutest thing I have ever seen and she has amazing dance moves!”

Megan is a rising sophomore at the University of North Carolina. She loves being an R.C. at Duke TIP and she is always happy to greet us, her R.C group, as we come home from class. She always waits right in front of the stair well door and gives us bear hugs as we come in from the quad. She has everyone tell a story from their day at R.C. meetings; if your story is the best, you get the flamingo(yes, a blow-up pink rubber flamingo.) However, if your story is the worst, you get the bird hat( a green visor made of foam that looks like a bird). She always tucks in her campers by playing the “Lullaby of the Night” which changes every day. We have had songs ranging from "Thriller" to "Baby" and "Don’t Stop Believing".
“Megan makes my day- she is always there for you no matter what!” Lolade adds.
It is apparent that Megan is a wonderful influence on her campers; I know the second term TIPsters will love her almost as much as we do!

All the World's a Story: Red and Black Editorial Adviser Discusses Journalism and Newspapers

2010-06-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

By Sarah Eutsler, M&M TA

Contributors: Landon Willey, Maddie Kim, Abby Hunt, Marissa Karp, Zack Mahoney, Kaitlyn Shanks, Brittney Vidal

Ed Morales, editorial adviser to the University of Georgia's Red and Black student newspaper, took time Monday afternoon to preach his own journalistic philosophy to a group of aspiring journalists.

"There's a story in everything," Morales said to the high school students. The group is enrolled in the Media and Message course through the Duke TIP program, which hosts an academic camp on the UGA campus.

Morales discussed coming up with the ideas from articles in other publications or through basic, everyday life.

"Find a topic of interest, and ask a question. Then you have a story!" Morales said. "Anything can be a story."

But keeping the audience in mind is key. In order to have a successful newspaper, Morales said, the publication must cover topics that appeal to their audience.

The Red and Black specializes in news that is aimed toward UGA students, reporting on everything that happens on campus and around the campus. The 117 year old publication also has a web counterpart, where articles and video content are published for a wide audience.

"The website isn't just for the University of Georgia," said Morales. "At least one person from every single country in the world has visited the Red and Black website," said Morales.

Aside from high traffic, the website's video content received attention and took home an award from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Morales, however, doesn't take credit for the work, calling himself an employee of the students. Most students on staff are journalism majors, but students from all backgrounds contribute.

"Newspapers help people learn to write, work with people, and discover news," said Morales. He believes working on the student newspaper staff can help prepare students for whatever career path they choose.

The talk wrapped up with a word of caution. Morales stressed the credibility of stories, warning students to not just assume facts.

"Make sure you get it right," said Morales. "We do make mistakes but we try to be as careful as we can.

The Blog Life: Sara Caldwell Discusses Blogging with M&M Students

2010-06-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

By Sarah Eutsler
M&M TA

When it comes to blogging, it's all about voice.

Sara Caldwell, University of Georgia student and intern with USA Today College, sat down for a Skype chat with the Duke TIP UGA Media and Message students from Washington, DC, Tuesday afternoon. The students gathered around the large projector to ask Caldwell questions about her work with the publication's college blog, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.

Caldwell explained that blogs differ from hard news stories. She wants writers working for her to work on developing a style and a voice, which is a perk to the style of writing. Hard news stories don't have a lot of room for the incorporation of strong voice. When writing her own blog posts, Caldwell likes to utilize wit and humor.

Aside from voice, Caldwell touched on other key aspects of blogging.

"If you are serious about becoming a blogger, you have to update on a regular basis," says Caldwell. People will become accustomed to reading a blog, but "if all of a sudden that voice stops" people will neglect to read it even when it does become updated. In order to maintain that readership, develop a schedule that is easy to achieve from day one.

Audience is also significant. As the USA Today College blogger, Caldwell spends her time looking for articles to link to and discuss that have a college slant or appeal to the interests of college students. Keeping that audience in mind is important to maintain readership.

Caldwell's talk was the perfect way to get students interested in blogging, inspiring the next generation of media-savvy individuals to get their word out into the blogosphere.

You can follow the live tweets from the talk by searching for hashtag #sarablogs and/or see our Twitter account.

Skit: TV Rap

2010-06-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

The M&M class drew genres and were tasked with creating a short skit about the medium they presented earlier in class. Here, the "television" group raps about TV.
Other genres include kung fu, action, fantasy and rock. The rest of the class skits are on our YouTube channel.

M&M Presentation: Film

2010-06-14T14:47:00.002-07:00

Film Presentation Duke Tip

View more presentations from Geoffrey Graybeal.

M&M Presentation: Books

2010-06-14T14:47:00.001-07:00

Books

View more presentations from Geoffrey Graybeal.

M&M Presentation: Newspapers

2010-06-14T14:46:00.001-07:00

Newspapers

View more presentations from Geoffrey Graybeal.

M&M Presentation: Television

2010-06-14T14:44:00.001-07:00

Television

View more presentations from Geoffrey Graybeal.

M&M Presentation: Radio

2010-06-14T14:42:00.001-07:00

The Radio

View more presentations from Geoffrey Graybeal.

Year 2: Media and Message Day 1

2010-06-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of Year 2 of TIP at UGA. The Media and Message class will work on presentations and skits about the media this afternoon, which we'll try to post later today. This morning, we'll take a Media Inventory survey (Click here to take survey) (password protected so only for the M&M students) and watch this Social Media Revolution video .

You can also follow our tweets on Twitter at DukeTIPDawgs and our videos on our YouTube channel (YouTube.com/DukeTIPDawgs).

Enjoy!

Duke TIP Anthem

2009-07-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Duke TIP instructional staff members David Sparks and Dane Wendell performed an original song, "TIP anthem" on Friday, July 24 at the Talent Show.

Below are the lyrics and chords.

############################################## TIP Anthem #
# David and Summar Sparks, and Dane Wendell #
#############################################
# Verse 1 #
G5 D5 E5
Me and my pillow land in Atlanta,
G5 D5 C5
Get on a bus, drive to the dorm,
G5 D5 E5
Everyone else is happy to be here,
A5 C5C5D5C5D5
I'd rather be somewhere else.
I hate my roommate, he listens to screamo.
Put on my form that I don't.
For evening activity, we listen to iPods,
I could do that back at home.
Teacher is droning on about something,
He doesn't know we don't care.
I want a five, so I pay attention,
Daddy's four grand was well spent.
# Chorus #
G D
It's Duke TIP and I'm part of it,
C
And it's part of me and I'm happy to be here.
G D
We're talented and bright, lonely and uptight,
C
And I'm working a little, and playing a lot.
G
Three weeks a year,
D
I got nothing to fear,
Em
And I'm never alone,
C
'Cause this is my home,
G D G
And I can't wait to come back again.
[Muted G]
# Verse 2 #
It's a new campus, the food here is good.
It's nice to be back with my friends.
They understand me, and love a good caper,
Like nobody seems to at home.
During my breaks, I'm practicing Frisbee.
I've almost perfected the flick.
This class is better, I feel like I get it,
But I'll be okay with a four.
# Chorus #
# Solo over chorus chords #
# Verse 3 #
Look at my lanyard, you'll see I'm a veteran.
I've been through all this before.
We're good at Ultimate, but the staff is better,
I guess there's still something to learn.
I see we have talent, in spite of ourselves.
I fear I may cry at the dance.
But why be ashamed? This is my family.
I'll really miss my TA.
# Chorus #
# Chorus Outro #
[Final line modified to:]
How I wish I could come back again.
###############
# Just chords #
###############
# Verse #
G5 D5 E5 E5
G5 D5 C5 C5
G5 D5 E5 E5
A5 A5 C5C5D5D5C5
# Chorus / Solo #
G G D D C C C C
G G D D C C C C
G G D D Em Em C C
G G D D G G [G] [G]
#############
# Structure #
#############
VVV C VV C S VV C C*
* repeat as needed.

Slideshow about Duke TIP at UGA

2009-07-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

By Hailey Gilman and Gunner Strietzel M&M staffers

American Foreign Policy present policy papers

2009-07-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

By Madeline McCallum, Alex Gheorghe, and Natalie Gideon
M&M Staffers

As we walked in the labyrinthine hallways of the dimly-lit Horticultural and Plant Sciences building, we marveled at the fluorescent lighting and extreme lack of windows. However, the bright minds and fiery opinions of the students made up for the drab exterior.With five desks set up in front of the class and the rest of the students organized in a circle around the room, the students were ready to explain the final project of the term; their final paper on one current issue in American foreign policy.

Four students acting as a panel on their paper topics, and one TA acting as the chair of the panel explained their final papers in five minutes or less. Categories included possession of nuclear bombs and the war on terror.

After presentations, TA David Sparks, Instructor Patrick Rhamey, and class got to question their peers about their opinions. This was necessary because some very strong opinions were expressed.

John, a student, said “I do believe that American life is more important than Korean life,” as he addressed the need for military action against North Korea.

Another student on the panel disagreed heartily with this idea, saying that North Korea is like a child using alcohol as a rite of passage into adulthood. North Korea is using nuclear weapons as a rite of passage into the elite group of the most powerful countries in the world.Solutions to nuclear warfare and threats flew around the room as students proposed peace treaties, attacks and invasions, more threats, and withdrawal from Iraq.

On the next panel, one student addressed the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and noted that, “Israel blows the crap out of them [the Hamas].” In response, another student asked how the media could get the people on the side of the Palestinians.

Another panel commenced, but students’ interest in intercontinental ballistic missiles was fading fast.

Good thing we were done with reporting for the day.

Athens, GA: The Place to Be!

2009-07-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

Article and Photos By Alicia Mayfield M&M Staffer

While being home to more than 30, 000 college students, Athens, Ga. has become home to the best music, food, and entertainment for University of Georgia students.

As the host for more than 130 Duke TIPsters plus staff, downtown Athens has provided Duke TIPsters various ways to eat, shop, and enjoy life as a “college student” while still being a kid at heart.

Athens was originally a trading settlement called ‘Cedar Shoals’ during the late 1700s. After the University of Georgia was founded, built and settled, Athens became a city on August 24, 1872. During the World War II, Athens was home to one of only five naval preflight schools in the nation. Being a college town involves having a great music scene. Some of the most famous venues were the Morton Theater and the Georgia Theatre.

The Morton Theatre was founded in 1910 by Monroe Bowers Morton, a prominent African American business owner. This theatre was home to famous performers such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Although the building was closed because of a failed inspection, the city took over and reopened the theatre in 1993 and is currently open today.

Georgia Theatre is another famous music venue located in downtown Athens. The theatre is located in an old cinema and was opened as a musical theatre in 1978. The Theatre has hosted bands such as The Police and Sea Level. Until recently the building had been opened, but a recent fire has destroyed the inside of the building so only the frame still stands.

With all of the music of Athens, there are also great restaurants to choose from. A favorite of the Duke TIPsters is “The Last Resort.” The cute, chic restaurant has amazing food and even better cheesecake and desserts that will have you wanting more and more.Originally, “The Last Resort” opened as a night club in 1966. One of the hippest music scenes back in the day, The Last Resort was a popular place for performers such as Reverend Pearly Brown, Steve Goodman, and Jimmy Buffet.After closing for a decade, current owners Melissa Clegg and Jamshad Zarneger and a bunch of their friends have revived the building, turning the stylish night club into an excellent restaurant.Some of the menu includes roasted duck pasta, chicken carbonara, fire cracker fillet, and various assortments of soups and salads. The Last Resort is known exclusively for their desserts. The many flavors of cakes and cheesecakes makes any night to The Last Resort an event to look forward to.

Another popular place for the TIPsters to go is the various shops and boutiques that are located in downtown Athens. A favorite for the Duke TIPsters is the smoothie shop, “Planet Smoothie”. It was founded in 1995 by Martin Sprock and is one of the top smoothie concepts in the world. Planet Smoothie has currently 125 locations and has been a great place to hang out for TIPsters when they get the chance to travel downtown.

Hailey Gilman, a third year TIPster commented about her favorite part of downtown“I really enjoyed the smoothie shop and I liked that downtown Athens is really contained and in one spot.”

Katie Eisel, another TIPster also said that downtown has a lot of character. It has a bunch of old stores and new stores and Katie also likes the Bulldogs that are on every corner.

“I also love the strawberry banana smoothies,” she said.

Now, other than being home for UGA students and families, Athens has a great music scene and excellent restaurants and bars to choose from. Whether you’re touring the campus or just a regular citizen there is always something to do in Athens.

Duke TIP at UGA forges its own path

2009-07-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

By Gunner Strietzel
M&M staffer

Duke TIP is a program specializing in the education of students excelling intellectually in school and need more of a challenge then they would normally have.

The Summer Studies program is something Duke TIP offers for six weeks during the summer. There are two terms, each one being three weeks long. Duke TIP is hosted on varies college campuses all over the south-west part of the USA. There are currently 10 campuses on which Duke TIP in held, UGA being the newest addition to the Duke TIP program.

UGA, otherwise known as the University of Georgia, is located in Athens Georgia, 73 miles away from Atlanta, the capitol of Georgia. UGA is only for rising 9th, 10th, and 11th graders, so unfortunately no one going into 8th grade is welcomed at UGA for the Duke TIP program. Since UGA is a brand new campus for Duke TIP, there are still some kinks being worked out. One of the main ones is that the dorm rooms are very far away from the classrooms, and it requires a bus to get to where you need to go. Also, when more than three classes try to get on the same bus, the bus is too crowded, and some people have to get off. “It’s way too crowded, and when there’s a lot of people it’s hectic.” Duke TIP is going to try to get classrooms that are closer to the dorm room next year, so it is a lot easier to go to and from class.

Also, the only dining hall open for dinner is quite far from the dorm rooms, so Duke TIP is going to try to get Snelling, the dining hall closest to the dorm, to stay open for dinner next year. Another problem Duke TIP at UGA has is the other camps.

For term 2 the problem is the cheerleading camps. Again, since there is only one dining hall open for dinner, the cheerleaders and Duke TIP both have to use the same dining hall, making seating almost impossible to get. Recently, the people that work there have been reserving seats for Duke TIP, but for some reason the “reserved” seats have been taken by cheerleaders. Some people at Duke TIP have no problem with the cheerleaders, but that is definitely not the case for a lot of the kids.

“I feel that the cheerleaders could be a better influence of UGA,” Alicia said, “especially if they had a better attitude towards other people.” So not only does it make it hard for Duke TIP to eat because there are about 800 cheerleaders, but they are also rude to the camp.

Some people do not care for Duke Tip at UGA, like fourth years Yolanda and Lena.

But, there are advantages to UGA. Things like the food for example. Everyone agrees that the food here is much better than any of the campuses they have been to. All in all UGA has its ups and downs, but in the end the majority of the people are having fun and can’t wait to come back next year.

Order in the Court

2009-07-23T15:19:00.001-07:00

Article and photos by Katie Eisel, Alicia Mayfield, and Hailey Gilman/
M&M Staffers

At the Midland Marauders hockey game May 7th, 2003, a fight broke out on the ice. In the heat of the moment, Tony Stromanis knocked Michael Harman’s bare head into the boards. Stromanis died at the hospital that night, but because of a previously existing polycystic kidney disease, the cause of death is unknown. This is the case that was given to the Duke TIP students in Criminal Law/Mock Trial.

The students in this class had to learn the Federal Rules of Evidence, public speaking, rules of objection, and other official jargon involved in criminal court cases. With their teacher, Dane Wendell, presiding as judge the students had to present their case and make it plausible for the jury, while also abiding by the rules of court.

Though today’s trial was simply a practice, both students and staff took it seriously. The courtroom remained silent throughout testimonies and court rules and regulations were enforced.
Although some students took the class for fun, some are taking it more seriously. Becky Dorrell, one of the trial’s witnesses as a neurologist, wishes to pursue a career in law and eventually become an attorney. When asked about her favorite part of class, she said, “…when we talk about laws.” Brittney Spratt, the prosecuting attorney, takes another angle and said, “...making objections,” and admitted her least favorite parts of class are the long lectures.

Even though tensions rise and more objections are called, the students are still TIPsters at heart. In the middle of one of the testimonies, an objection is called, only to be fought back by the defending attorney, quite loudly. The instructor, Mr. Dane Wendell, just laughed and said, “Welcome to Mock Trial.”

Philosophy Class Holds Art Gallery Exhibit

2009-07-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

By Caroline New
M&M staffer

“Science is what you know, philosophy is what you don't know.” (Bertrand, Russell)

So how can you study such a fickle topic as this? These are the things that the Duke TIP philosophy class at the University of Georgia ponder on a daily basis. Philosophy is the study of truth, beauty, existence, knowledge, language, and reality, all erratic matters that take deep thought and deliberation. The class is taught by Summar Sparks.

“I have been so surprised by how quickly [the students] have caught on to everything,"she said. "They’ve worked really hard.” Though this is the first time UGA has hosted a Duke TIP program, the philosophy has been taught at Appalachian State University, before, where it was quite popular. The Duke TIP students had to take either the SAT or ACT and score high enough to be accepted. All of the classes here are designed so that gifted students may learn in an environment that fits their needs.

“It’s interesting how being in a class with so many smart people can really change the way you think,” said Sarah Claypoole.

During the first week, the class mainly focused on two major braches of philosophy: metaphysics and epistemology, setting the tone for the next three weeks.

“Metaphysics has become the study of the fundamental nature of all reality — what is it, why is it, and how are we can understand it. Some treat metaphysics as the study of “higher” reality or the “invisible” nature behind everything, but that isn’t true. It is, instead, the study of all of reality, visible and invisible; and what constitutes reality, natural and supernatural.” (Cline, Austin)

Metaphysics has a lot to do with religion, and can pertain to many modern day issues, making it an important theme to study.

On the other side, epistemology is more of a mental issue than a spiritual, but they bothe tie into each other.

“The study of epistemology focuses on our means for acquiring knowledge and how we can differentiate between truth and falsehood.” (Cline, Austin)

In the week after, they visited the Georgia Museum of Natural History and the archives. Here the class focused on the different influences over history on certain subjects, and how their meanings have changed since then.

Although this field trip took place in the second week, it pertained mostly to the lessons of the first week. After this study was done, they began to reach even deeper, discussing morals and ethics. This topic brought up other subjects like activism, politics, and movements, and current events were often brought up during class.

“If you think about it,” said Olivia Baker, “Everything has philosophy behind it.” One of their activities was to create a “Utopian High School.”

One student commented that, when considered, this project may turn out to be more difficult than you might imagine because there are so many factors to consider, and it is each person’s individual opinion whether or not one choice is better than another.

During the last week, the class narrowed their views to one branch of philosophy, known as aesthetics. Aesthetics is “a critical reflection on art, culture, and nature” (Bruyn, Severyn).

The visit during the second week to the Natural History Museum first opened the students’ eyes to this subject. Although this may seem like a limited matter to discuss, there are many aspects that can be considered, such as “How do you determine the value of art?” or “ Does it have a subjective or objective meaning?” For this analysis, the students created their own art and displayed it in an art show.

Each exhibit had a paragraph written by the students explaining the philosophical motivation behind it. Many of the pieces followed certain trends, such as the theme of “Beauty Is In the Eye of the Beholder,” many of which contained eyes with mirror pupils, however, a few students came up with their own unique ideas, such as Sarah Claypoole’s “Puzzling Expressio ns" and Olivia Baker’s “Give Peace a Chance.” Another popular drift was, “Is What We See Real or Are We Dreaming?” an idea proposed by French philosopher, René Descartes.

Devyn Post attempted to condense his ideas into a nutshell. “He basically believed that we can never be sure if anything is real. We could be awake, or we could be sleeping. Who knows if this is all a dream?”

Attending the art show were staff and administration from the camp. Each student had a chance to present their creation and explain the meaning behind it. David Younker, academic coordinator of the UGA Duke TIP campus, said, “I was surprised by the variety of approaches and influences the students used.”

Overall, the students are glad that they had the opportunity to study this concentrated subject.

Devyn Post laughed when asked how this class has affected her.

“I’ll never be able to think ‘right’ again. Nothing has face value anymore, it’s so much more than that. My thoughts will never be the same.”

RCs keep M&M students safe, entertained outside of class

2009-07-23T13:20:00.001-07:00

Articles by M&M staffers/ Edited and compiled by Rose Fox

Alyssa
Alyssa's RC group, the “Mardi Gras Girls”, is a motley collection of girls from all over the United States from states such as Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Texas, and from all Duke TIP campuses such as Texas A&M, ASU, and Kansas as well as some first years.
Alyssa Johnson, 22 years old, was born and raised in Delco, N.C., “. . . a very, very small town,” with around 1,500 residents. A recent graduate from UNC Pembroke, Alyssa received a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, focusing on psychology. She said, “I want to be a counselor one day.” But before she gets her Master’s degree, she will begin work in Lumberton, N.C. as a 4th or 5th grade teacher.
Although Alyssa did not get into Duke TIP, she was accepted into an AG (Academically Gifted) science camp that she went to for two years. Alyssa still wanted to experience TIP, though, and since she was an RA in college, she thought being an RC would be perfect for her.
According to Alyssa, our RC group is "extremely happy all the time" which is very true. Walk down our hallway at any given time and you will hear singing, laughing, and, most often, screaming. "The tight connection, we're all like family, and RC group nights," said Hailey Gilman, when asked about her favorite part of our RC group. Both of Hailey's sentiments are shared by other members of the group, especially about RC group nights.
RC group nights are the highlight of the week for most TIPsters. It’s the one night a week where the TIPsters get to choose exactly what they want to do with their RC group. This term the Mardi Gras Girls went to Myers hall and watched television while making friendship bracelets and ate Choo Choo’s.
“My favorite group night was the mall!” said 3rd year, Natalie Gideon. We went to the mall the second week and shopped ‘til we dropped, and this week we plan on having a spa night where we do each other’s nails and order food. RC group nights are extremely fun and are spent with the people at TIP you are closest to.
Alyssa said she’ll definitely miss the girls and claimed, “This term feels like it’s flown by!” One of Alyssa’s girls, Natalie, agreed with this and noted, “The people in our RC group are the bomb!” This sentiment was shared by Katie Eisel who said, “I’ve had so much fun! I can’t believe it’s almost over!” My RC group is awesome and everyone in it is so close. Third year Hailey Gilman said, “I like the family feel to it and the fact that we didn’t even know each other and we were best friends on the first day.”

-By Natalie, Hailey, and Katie
~~~
Elizabeth
My RC group consists of 22-year old RC named Elizabeth Perkins, better known as EP, eight fourth-year girls and two third-year girls. During RC Group Nights, we choreographed dances, decorated cookies, took trips DownTown, and went roller-skating with the fourth year boys.We quickly bonded over one thing: Boys. Actually, it was the Male Staff: RC's, TA's, and the PA. "Our RC group is pretty much obsessed with all male staff . . . in a good way," Emmie, a fourth year, said.
Everyone in our RC group makes an effort to get along, even if we don't all agree on things.
We've shared laughs, secrets, inside jokes, food, and clothes; making memories that will last forever.
By Yolanda
~~~
Nicole
By far, I have the biggest RC group. There are 14 of us in all: Ashton, Elizabeth, Sara, Ellie, Natalie, Amber, Monique, Rachel, Brittany, Madelyn, Kelly, Katie, Kristen, and I. Our RC group leader is Nicole, and she is well loved! She is often affectionately called the following nicknames: Cobra, Nikki, Nick, NICKOLAH!!!, Nickasaur and Twank. She, amazingly, answers to all of them. MY RC GROUP IS LOVE!
By “Scheirer”
~~~

Carrie
My RC is Carrie Nazzaro. She is a 21 year old who is attending the University of South Carolina and is majoring in English. In addition, she is the Residential Hall Leader along with Geoff Toy. She attended Kansas University in her first term at Duke and came back for the remaining three terms. Other than all the cover information on Carrie, she is a great person with an amazing sense of humor. She also has an infectious laugh that always increases as pitch. She also enjoys talking with her group in the hall before bedtime and enjoys sharing jokes with them too. As an inside joke, Carrie and her group call themselves "The Legit 10!"

All the girls in the group (some pictured, right) have different personalities that mesh very well together. Caroline New said, "It's really great to see all the diversity in the group, and we all get along very well." All the girls are from different states such as Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Along with hanging out in the hall together, RC Group night is a highlight to everybody's weeks. In recent week, we have gone downtown to get ice cream from Ben &Jerry's and coffee from Starbucks and gone to see Harry Potter 6 the day after it came out! This week, we are going to the mall to buy some cute stuff before we go home. All of these activities are very fun and they all helop everyone bond together better.

Carrie's RC Group is one of the most fun groups here. There are girls from all over who bring their personalities into a circle of friendship. When I leave TIP until next summer, I will definitely miss all of them, but I know that I will stay in touch with them due to the strong bonds that I have created over the past three weeks with all of them!
By Alex
~~~
Adam
Adam Sharpe is . . . rather difficult to describe. As a member of his RC Group, I feel I know him pretty well. It’s easy to make a biography about him. He’s probably about 5’9”, he has blue eyes, his hair kept short and he’s covered in hair and itchiness to the point that his nickname, (given to him by RC Geoff, but quickly adopted by his RC Group), is Papa Bear. He goes to the University of Georgia and is looking for a degree in broadcast journalism. He says he wants to report from inside a war zone, to get the truth out there despite the risk to himself. It’s easy to say that this is his third year as a staff member of Duke TIP,but Adam can’t really be put into words.
I should know. I tried. I asked people from my class what they thought about Adam. The general consensus seemed to be “I don’t really know him that well, but he seems really cool.” Hailey Gilman expounded to say that he’s “one of those guys that’s really loud and goofy and doesn’t care who knows it. He’s very sure of himself.” This can be made clear from the activities he leads at Duke TIP. “MAN-swers,” “High School Musical 3,” “Acoustic Sunset,” “Project Runway,” “High School Musical 2,” and “Cow Appreciation” are among the evening activities in which Adam had a hand.
Christopher Nesmith, a member of Adam’s RC Group attempted to describe him. It was kind of anticlimactic. “Adam is a character. I guess you could say, uh… He’s just Adam. Completely Random. Completely random.” I concur with Chris’s opinion of Adam. How do you describe a guy like Adam? Everyone always seems to be too far from or too close to him to really describe Adam well. That’s the thing with Adam. Either you don’t know him at all, or he’s like your big brother. Or, as in 12 special cases, your papa bear.
By Dan
~~~
Nataneal
RC groups are a part of TIP no matter which campus you go to. At UGA there are 12 RC groups with a range of 8-14 kids in each group. Each RC group has one RC that is in charge. Nataneal is the RC for the second year boys, but only a few of them. There are eight boys in Nataneal's RC group, making them one of the smallest RC groups at UGA. Nataneal is 19 years old and is currently in college. On his days off he usually sleeps and goes to work out. Ironically, Nataneal can't swim, even though he lives near the water. This is his first year working at Duke TIP and he said he enjoys it a lot. The kids in the RC group come from all over America, mainly in the south-east. One boy named Rajat comes all the way from Texas. Rajat is in the robotics class, and he loves every second of it. RC groups have RC group nights once a week, and it's usually different every week. On RC group night, the group gets to skip activities and do something else of their choice. For example, Nataneal's RC group went to downtown Athens their first night, Walmart their second night, and then to the movies to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince their final night. When Nataneal's group went downtown, they walked around for about an hour and a half, visiting various shops. First they went to an old indie-record shop and a couple boys bought old records from there. Then, once finished at the store, they headed over to Five-Guys and Starbucks. They sat around the tables drinking coffee, eating burgers, and having a great time. "I loved downtown," Robert said. "The shops where cool and Five Guys was great." The next week, they all decided to go to Wal-Mart in order to get clothes for the upcoming dance. They were there for about 45 minutes before they went to Zaxby's for a late night snack at 10 o'clock. The third and final night the boys decided to go see the 6th Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. There also happened to be two other RC groups at the theater, so Nataneal's RC group joined up with them. Although some thought the movie was great, most of them disagreed, saying it was nothing like they thought it would be.
By Gunner
~~~
Tessa
“Get it ladies! Those are my girls!” Tessa White, a first year RC, yelled from the audience as her RC group danced to “Redneck Woman.” Even though she was pretending to be their stage mom, Momma T is more like a big sister to us than anything.
Tessa was born in Spain and speaks fluent Spanish, which you wouldn’t guess based on her long blonde hair and blue eyes. She attends Notre Dame and is majoring in Political Science/History. She’s a very chill person that takes a very enthusiastic approach to her duties as an RC and is very protective of her girls, which she calls Tessa’s Belles.
Dance parties in the hall, meetings in Theo’s room, advice sessions, and running away from creepers are not only half of the things we’ve been through together. Some of our RC group nights include eating delicious cheesecake at the Last Resort, going shopping in downtown Athens, and going to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Also, we ordered food and hung out with Francisco’s group, but that soon turned into a gaggle of girls sitting in a circle, all busting out in laughter, while the boys left them to their Cokes and Choo-Choo’s.“Our group is very interesting and we have a lot of inside jokes,” Sabrina Marasa, one of the RC group members, said. When asked what words describes our RC group, Tessa replied with “mommalicious.” This is probably referring to the 99 cent babies that all of the girls bought at the Dollar Store to truly become “redneck women.”
Whether we’re singing about honky-tonks while walking past the bars in Athens, screaming in the movie theaters, or getting answers about our new "father," Tessa's RC group will always stand out in a crowd.
By Madeline
~~~
Denisse
The RC group known as the “groovy ladies” has a total of 11 members, the majority of whom are third-years. Denisse, the RC of the hall, conducts nightly meetings and executes behind-the-scenes work. Born in Puerto Rico, Denisse is an International Business major at the University of Georgia. She is a first-year RC and describes the experience as “really great,” although she admits that “it’s a lot more work than I expected.” Despite this, Denisse would like to return next year as an RC. The members of the “groovy ladies” are all content with their hall mates. Cassidy Bingham, a fourth-year from Florida, explained, “It’s not like we’re all soul mates, but our personalities mesh together very well.” Many of the girls in the group like the same musical bands, including the rare “indie” Mypace group Never Shout Never. Olivia A., a third year, agreed. “I love it,” she said, noting that she has a lot in common with most of the girls. “And even if we don’t, it’s fun to talk about opposing opinions.” Like many other RC groups, the “groovy ladies” have their own traditions, jokes, and quirks. Most of the girls periodically burst into song while walking, the tune of which changes between established recordings and custom-made songs dedicated to various RCs on the UGA campus. For TIP’s scavenger hunt, the girls created the “velociraptor” dance, which impressed RCs Adam and Nicole and was later part of the Blue Team’s cheer for TIP’s Brek-Fest. In the short amount of time given in a term, the “groovy ladies” RC group has developed a strong friendship which will no doubt last beyond the boundaries of the UGA campus.
By Rose
~~~

From ASU to UGA a tough adjustment for some TIPsters

2009-07-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

By Lena Ray
M&M staffer

This summer, the Duke TIP program opened up a new summer studies site at the University of Georgia. They implemented a new system that separates the oldest and the youngest students and has moved many old students from their original campus.

According to their website, “Duke TIP is committed to serving this unique group of students by providing services and programs beyond what is offered in the classroom.” The Duke TIP summer studies program offers five sites for eighth through tenth graders and four sites for seventh and eighth graders.

Up until 2009, the TIP summer studies program offered a welcoming environment for seventh through tenth graders at seven different college campuses from North Carolina to Texas. In October 2008, many students received a letter saying that the campus they regularly attended was closed to ninth and tenth graders (third and fourth year TIPsters).

“I almost cried. Oh my god it was ridiculous,” said Mary Scheirer, a third year at the University of Georgia site that had attended Appalachian State University for her first two years at TIP.

Dan Weitzman, a fourth year this year at UGA said, “I cried. I actually cried.” It is still a very sensitive subject for the many ASU TIPsters who came to UGA.
The staff at the main duke TIP offices in Durham, N.C., knew that this decision would be an emotional decision for the students who had to move campuses, but they felt that the decision was best for all of the students.

Brian Cooper, the man in charge of informing the TIPsters that they would attend a new campus, came to visit UGA and see the students’ reaction to their new campus. The visit was full of angry or crying TIPsters, and many explanations from Brian.

The main offices in Durham had been receiving letters and phone calls from concerned parents. Many parents of first years, rising eighth graders, were worried that their children would be interacting with 10th graders and would attend the same classes as the 10th graders.

Cooper also said that by separating the age groups, Duke TIP had created a better experience for both the third and fourth years, and the first years. By separating them, classes could be geared towards specific age groups and would be more suited for a certain age group.

Elizabeth Perkins, a residential counselor at UGA this year, said that at ASU she had noticed fourth years bullying several first years.

When asked how the fourth years affected TIPsters when they were first years, all of them had good experiences with the fourth years. Dan Weitzman, a fourth year and former ASU TIPsters said, “They treated me like a little brother.” He said that fourth years could set examples for the first years and it was an endless cycle. “It’s fantastic.”

“They were always nice. They were someone to look up to,” said Mary Scheirer.

Yolanda Douglas, another fourth year from ASU said that the fourth years inspired her to return to TIP because she saw the goal that she was working towards. “Without first years, our speeches at the end of the term are going to be pointless,” said Douglas, because the fourth years will be talking to second years, many of whom are already returning TIPsters.

Even now, the fourth years have RCs who were fourth years when they were first years. It is more welcoming to recognize faces, sometimes even old friends, on the residential staff when you show up for your fourth year.

Sarah Harper, a fourth year at ASU last year, said, “I made really good friends with a few first years. With the first and second years present I met more people that thought like me. THAT is what TIP is about.” She promised to be an RC when those friends are fourth years.

While some parents do not want their children interacting with older students, other parents feel that it is a good experience for their children. The residential life coordinator at UGA this year told the TIPsters, “You’re young adults and we should give you the right and privilege to interact with any friends as much as possible.”

Classes with both fourth years and first years provide a more challenging experience for the first years, and no TIPster interviewed had problems with fourth years or their classes.

When asked why the old students were sent to a new campus instead of the new students, Cooper had several reasons to back up the decision from Durham.

At ASU, there is practically no walking, and Cooper said that it was a good campus for the first years because RCs could keep track of them easily. At UGA the students have to ride buses to their classes and walk much farther to dinner than at ASU.

The University of Kansas was also closed to third and fourth years, but according to a TIPster from KU, the walking distances at UGA are nothing compared to KU. “KU was huge. It was, like, hills and you had to go through, like, other buildings and stuff to get to where you wanted to go,” said third year Hailey Gilman.

Another problem with ASU was discipline. Onsite director Alex Pagnani said, “What we heard was basically that ASU last year was complete craziness, that really most of the rules got thrown out the window.”

None of the former ASU students said that they remembered these behavioral problems. In fact, one fourth year said that the rules and dorms at ASU last year were much more restrictive than in past years.

Former ASU students have only one complaint about ASU: the food. “TIP at ASU was perfect in its imperfections,” said Sarah Harper. On the other hand, there is a long list of complaints about the University of Georgia.

“UGA doesn’t feel like home like the way ASU did,” said a third year at UGA. ASU “feels like a second home.” These students are not prepared to say goodbye to Boone, N.C.

Lena Ray is a 4th year TIPster from Austin, Texas.

Video of Types of Frisbee Throws

2009-07-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Advice, throws and article by Lena Ray; Video shot by Ellie Solomon/ M&M staffers

Duke TIPster and M&M staffer Lena Ray demonstrates types of frisbee throws. Video of the first throw is embedded below. Follow the links in the description to see video of the other types of throws.

You can try to skip the frisbee with a flick. This is not the best example, and some people can skip the disc much farther than this, but it’s the same basic idea. With enough practice you can get the right angle and enough power to skip the disc off the ground with a flick or a backhand.

Frisbee throws 5, 6, and 7:
Trying to skip the frisbee with a backhand. This is not the best example, and some people can skip the disc much farther than this, but it’s the same basic idea. With enough practice you can get the right angle and enough power to skip the disc off the ground with a flick or a backhand.

Frisbee throw 4:
This throw can get a lot of distance if you do it properly. There’s also a way to throw it very similar to that from behind your back, but it’s not always worth the effort to learn how to throw it like that. Different people throw it differntly, so you have to find a way that works for you.

Frisbee throw 3:
The hammer is an overhead throw that can be used to pull the disc, if you can get enough distance, or to go over someone’s head. The hammer requires a lot of power to get it far, but it can be a really useful throw.

Fribee throw 2:
The flick/forehand can be useful in a lot of cases. Some people can get a lot more distance with this than with a backhand, it just depends. The most important part is to keep the disc flat, otherwise this throw won’t be very useful.

Genetics class: Apoptosis, ribonucleic acid, and tumor suppressors? We are in way over our heads.

2009-07-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

By Ellie Solomon, Madeline McCallum, and Natalie Gideon
M&M staffers

As we walked up the nine flights of stairs to the genetics classroom in the journalism building at UGA, we were not prepared for the fiery, heated, and intense debate they had in store for us.

Students sit in a small, somewhat dingy, florescent lighted classroom with their red desks placed around the room in a circle facing the board. Nametags are taped to the front of student’s desks as they are filled and students patiently await the beginning of class. As usual, the students decide to question a classmate, and throw queries at her faster than she can respond. Questions included were what’s your favorite herb, does she like eyeliner, how many places she had moved and which was her favorite.

Typically, the genetics class involves a mix of lectures and labs where students get to work hands-on with the knowledge they receive during note taking. According to Elizabeth Rush, a student in genetics, “usually it’s lectures.”

Today’s class begins with a “gene of the day”, as TA Rachel Brady draws complicated lists of the traits and students copy the board feverishly.

“This is my favorite gene,” repeats instructor Melissa Mahoney. Today, however; students’ seats are grouped on two opposite sides of the room debating the question; should genes be patented?

The debate gets heated after the opening statements when a student from the affirmative side, Everett Hyatt, makes a case for gene patenting if a gene can be used as a medicine. The opposing team question the ownership of one’s genes as comments fly back and forth about morals, profits, and monopolies.

When recess is called immediately before the closing statements, the air is so thick with tension, that one of the teams elects to leave the room. Another member of the affirmative team, MC Martin, said “I want to take them out” and “I want to take my pencil and poke someone in the eye.”

‘This is, like, the most exciting day so far,” a student, Trisha Aurora said. They assure us during break that we came on the best day possible.

“The labs are pretty fun,” said Aurea Li, “we have a pretty good balance of notes and labs.”

Melissa Mahoney, the teacher, and Rachel Brady, the TA, both agree that the students are the best part of teaching the class. “They have a lot of curiosity and they ask a lot of good questions,” said Melissa.

As we listened to the biological jargon bandied casually about across the room, we realized that what made the genetics class, the genetics class, was the interest shown by the students. The vigor with which they debated, and the interest shown in their discussions; as well as the companionship between classmates during break, makes technical terms seem almost interesting to a complete outsider.

Musical Slideshow about TIP at UGA

2009-07-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

Robotics Class Builds Robots!

2009-07-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Article, Video and Photos by Yolanda Douglas and Christopher Nesmith

M&M staffers

Anticipation filled the air Wednesday as the Duke TIP Robotics class prepared themselves -- and their robots -- for their "sumo-bot war" that would take place. After days of building and programming robots teams of two completed some final adjustments adding characteristics, such as torque, to give their robots as much of a competitive edge as possible when it came time to battle.

In the video two teams gave a preliminary battle before the actual competition. In the video, Doran and Ryan’s robot faced off against the robot made by Carson and Hal. At first contact, it seemed as if the battle was a stalemate, however after a few seconds other factors of the robot’s features like torque and specialized programming began to surface as Doran and Ryan’s robot began to take the advantage. Carson and Hal’s robot began to face technical difficulties as one of its wheels began to come loose. After a minute or so, the battle was called to an end to save battery power for the real “war” that would commence later in the day.

The Robotics class, taught by Instructor Travis Prochaska and TA Ben Bradshaw, were diligently working to finish their "sumo-bots" before the 2 p.m. competition. The air was mixed with tension and confidence. During interviews, most of the two people teams boasted about how their robot would win the Robot War; however, some of the teams were unsure. Two teams who had finished early demonstrated how the challenge would work. A circle is drawn on the floor, the robots are placed in the center and whichever robot is pushed out of the circle first, wins: a pretty simple concept."Basically, the robot is stupid without the programmer," said Stefan, a fourth year who hopes to become a computer programmer or an engineer. "You build the robot, plug it up to the computer and tell it what to do."

His partner, Austin Terry, also stated that he would like to work with computer and robots when he chooses a profession.

What goes in to making a robot? "A lot of love," Stefan laughed.

One would think that building a robot would require a large amount of math, but according to classmate Carson Wolf, "It doesn't take too much. Not as much as I thought it would."

Also, there was an odd twist. Only one girl chose to take Robotics.

“Why did you decide to take this course?” an M&M reporter asked, truly intrigued.“Well it seemed to be the most interesting course at the time,” she said. She picked the course because she hopes to be an engineer when she gets older. When asked about being the only girl in the class, she responded, “It was weird at first because I didn’t know anyone, but now it’s cool,” she said.

Later in the day, M&M reporters found out the results of the competition from Ross Yanuck. Carson and Hal’s robot came in first place, Doran and Ryan came in second and Kris and Ross’s robot took third.

The rest of the robots suffered from technical malfunctions in their programming.

“Basically, the nerdiest people in the class won,” Ross said. Ross also said he hopes to work more in robotics for a profession, and his TIP experience really opened his eyes.

“Maybe one day there will be a world with only robots,” he laughed.

Only time can tell.

Profile of RLC Kevin Cane

2009-07-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

Article written by M&M staffers/ compiled and edited by Rose Fox/ photos by Chris Nesmith

Kevin Cane sat in front of Duke TIP Media and Message students on Thursday answering their questions about his life as the RLC, or Residential Life Coordinator.
Being an RLC, one must know all of the Duke TIP policies fluently; however, real-life situations call for exceptions to rules and reaching that balance is what Cane finds difficult. At Duke TIP, students have particular times when they can use their cell phones. On one occasion, a student was repeatedly violating cell phone policy and Cane had to confiscate her cell phone until the end of the term. The student explained that she had a very sick relative back at home felt obligated to call and check in with her family often. This is a prime example of the balance between policy and real-life situations that Cane spoke about. “To watch the interplay of policy and emotion is very hard to watch,” Cane said. Instead of breaking policy and/or going against his human instinct, Cane found an alternative method of solving the problem. He contacted the Duke TIP main office in Durham, N.C. and together they came up with a new “check-out policy.”
In the new policy, if a student had too many cell phone violations, instead of confiscating it until the end of the term, the main office kept the student’s cell phone and the student could check it out during cell phone hours. “If we have your phone in the office we know where it is but the individual still has access to it,” he said.
Beyond his responsibilities as RLC, Cane has a colorful personal life. “You should definitely know that I’m obsessed with football,” he joked. During the regular season, Cane spends nearly all of his time on Saturdays watching different college football games around the country. Cane is a member of many social groups and clubs around his college as well. He is heavily involved in his Student Union and in the UGA Student Personnel Association (UGASPA).
Cane cited travel as one of his favorite hobbies and a great love in his life. He said he has been to and lived in locations such as Ireland and Manchester in the U.K. but has become a predominately domestic traveler of late, mostly because of the economy. Washington D.C. and New York City are among Cane’s favorite domestic locations.
Although he travels, Cane’s home is set at UGA. “I would be delighted,” Cane said when asked about returning to his position with TIP next year, “to have the opportunity to work here.” Cane went on to say that he would be “more than thrilled” at the prospect of continued TIP work.
Cane gets really into his job, and he loves being involved and informed. “I really, really enjoy spending time with the students,” Cane said, “I will definitely assist as much as possible.” Cane likes to make sure that everyone has a positive experience, and that everyone will be looking forward to coming back all year.
Cane is a big kid at heart and is willing to admit it. Cane’s youthful attitude will help him succeed and help him be where he wants to be. “I want to work every day on a college campus and never really grow up,” he said. He’ll have a lot of support from his family from Duke TIP.

Profile of Counselor Theary Tiep

2009-07-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

Article compilation by M&M staffers/ Photos by Gunner Strietzel and Ellie Solomon

Imagine fleeing your country at only 10 months old so you could live to see another day. Imagine several of your family members dying on the way out. Imagine your grandfather giving you sleeping pills so you wouldn’t cry and alert the guards of the concentration camp you were forced to live in.

Theary Tiep’s family was one of the millions forced out of their house in the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh and forced to live in rural work camps. If they had refused they would have been killed.

“Basically, they knocked on the door and said ‘You have one hour to evacuate. Take what you can carry,’” said Tiep. “My mom packed rice and food because she didn’t know if they’d be coming back.”

Born in Cambodia, August 19th, 1979, Tiep’s family was one of the ones affected by the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge, which enforced a policy of massive genocide claiming the lives of more than 2 million Cambodians. They had to sneak out of the country at night, losing family members as they went, and carrying her uncle, who couldn’t walk due to cerebral palsy, on a stretcher.

“I’m very fortunate, I’m very lucky to be alive here. It’s funny because I always tell myself: Everyone has good days, and sometimes you have really bad days, but I always put that into perspective. I could never really have a bad day, because I have a day.”

When her family finally escaped Cambodia they moved to the United States. Tiep grew up in Long Beach, Calif. where her parents opened up a sandwich shop.

Tiep became a U.S. citizen when she was 14, and although she grew up in a bad neighborhood, she believes that it helped shape the person that she is today.

“I grew up in a pretty rough area,” Tiep said.

In her neighborhood they had several race riots through different gangs. Her high school was pretty scary, too.

"In my junior year the National Guard had to come on campus with full gear; there were helicopters everywhere," Tiep said. "We were just a stone's throw away from Compton. Sometimes sports teams would forfeit because they didn’t want to come and play at our school,” Tiep said.

Tiep had a lot of after school activities. “I played tennis for four years, soccer, and did ballet.”

There was also an award winning magazine on campus that Tiep wrote for. She was very interested in journalism then. Tiep just graduated in May from the University of Southern California with a Master’s Degree in education.

While she was in college she interned for 40 hours a week at the local Elementary school and was a full-time student all at once. At USC Tiep’s class started a program called “SCOT” which stands for School Counselors of Tomorrow, and through this program Tiep found Duke TIP.

Duke TIP is a program where academically gifted students from the south-eastern part of the United States go to a college campus for three weeks and take a college course. At every campus there is a psychological counselor in case the students are having a problem and need to talk to someone.Tiep heard of this and wanted to try and get a position but forgot about the program in the midst of her busy schedule.

“Life happened,” she said. “I was like ‘Oh no! Duke TIP!’” Tiep called Duke TIP and asked if there were any positions left, and there was one. She took the counseling job at the Duke TIP site at the University of Georgia.

“I actually have the best job,” Tiep said. “I get to, kind of, have my hand in every cookie jar.”

Tiep’s job description is to hang out with the students, residential counselors (RC’s), and the staff, such as instructors, teacher’s assistants, and the administrative staff. She has to be on call every hour of the day so she gets two days off during the week instead of just one like the other staff members.

“The weirdest time I talked to somebody was two in the morning,” Tiep said, “but it’s okay because I’m a night owl anyway!”

Tiep remains optimistic even though her life has been full of difficulties. It takes a strong person to put up with everything she has and still have a huge, gleaming smile on their face. Tiep is a special kind of person who sees the glass half-full and tries to live each day to the fullest.

“Your experiences make you who you are.”

_40_

You can follow some "tweets" from Theary's press conference with the Media and Message class on @DukeTIPDawgs on Twitter. Hashtag #Theary.

Game Theory more than just fun and games although there is that too!

2009-07-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

Article, Photos and Video by Gunner Strietzel and Dan Weitzman/ M&M Staffers

Game Theory is one of the eight classes offered at Duke TIP at UGA Term 2.

It is a class about strategy, math, and how to have fun and win. Although it may seem like all fun and games, that isn’t entirely true. They also focus a lot on mathematics. They even took the Yale Economics final test, although most of the class failed.

“I think it’s a good mix,” Chloè said, speaking about the class. "We play games and at the same time we learn and work our minds," she explained.

The Game Theory class often plays popular games such as Blokus and Yahtzee, but they also made their own board games by either coming up with entirely new ideas, or mixing a few games together.

There are 12 people in the Game Theory class, and so they created groups of four, meaning three different games where to be made. The kids were given poster boards and were told to create a game on the board.

The only rules where that they couldn’t duplicate another game, and that the game must have a dominant strategy, other than that they were free to do anything they wanted. They had a couple of nights to think up an idea and then had to present it during class.First up was Chloè’s group. This group also included Ruthie, Maddy, and Sam. They created a game called Color Wars, a game in which you try to rack up points by invading other territories with your paper clips.

The way the game works is each color starts in its color’s corner. From there you create chains by adding paper clips in order to get into the other people’s territories.If you land on a surprise square, you get a card. You can’t show the card to anyone unless it is something that involves an immediate action. If it has to do with points you simply keep the card with you, face down. Different areas have different points, and you count the number of paper clips you have in those areas, and that’s how you get points. But, you only get points for the paper clips that are in other people’s territories, so you want to get to other people’s territories as fast as you can, using minimal pieces as possible.

The next group included Michael, Alyx, Mary, and Crystan. They created a game based off of the popular game, Risk. Their game is called The Island, and the way you win is by concurring all the countries within the island. Or, the other way to win is by everyone agreeing the game is over, and the person with the most amount of countries wins.

You start off on one of four countries, and make you way towards the island, once there you take over the country by simply placing your pieces on the country, and you can battle with other people by getting three of your pieces on their country then rolling a die, the one with the highest number wins. You also have resource cards, and you win or lose them along the way. If you lose all your resource cards, or if you run out of pieces, you automatically lose the game. So you have to be careful when moving.

Last was Matt, Sarah, Monique, and Layla’s game, Sajo!. In Sajo! the goal is to fill up your color’s square. There are two suites of cards, diamonds and clubs. Your partner sits across from you and you play your cards. Depending on what you play depends on how many pieces you can lay down in your square. If you both play diamonds, you each place eight. If you play a diamond and your partner plays a club, you only get to put down 4 pieces, while your partner gets to place down 12. So you can either work with your partner to beat out the other team, or you can try to cause your partner to lose, allowing yourself to win.

Game Theory is a great class for having fun while also learning about different strategies to use, different mathematical equations, and what to do in certain situations. Overall, the kids love the class and would highly suggest people to take it.

Outnumbered Duke TIP staff take out 4th year team in dodgeball

2009-07-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

Several dodgeball games took place Tuesday afternoon at Duke TIP at UGA. The most notable match was between staff members and 4th year TIPsters. Only 6 staff members participated against about 18 4th year students. Outnumbered 3 to 1, the small but mighty staff team came up triumphant against the 4th year TIPsters team. Highlights from the game are below:

Term 2 TIPsters have a "Brekfest" of Champions

2009-07-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

Article By Hailey Gilman/Photos by Ellie Solomon

M&M staffers

Where could you find a game of “rock-tree-bridge”, some enthusiastic teenage mutant ninja turtles, and epic jello snarfling, all in the same place?

At the Duke TIP Brek-Fest, of course!

A TIP-wide tradition, the “fest” consisted of the TIP students, split up into four teams, (blue, red, yellow, and green) competing in several events, trying to win the title of Brek-Fest Champions. BREK stands for "Basically Really Exciting 'K." Brekfest took place on Saturday, July 18th.

The fest began with an introduction from each team. The teams performed a cheer or a song to spread their spirit and were then awarded cheer contest points. We heard first from the energetic Lightning Zebras, a team decked out in multiple shades of yellow. Though it had rhyming lyrics, the cheer lacked the pep or the stamina of a true Brek-Fest champion team. The red team came next, the Infernos, singing a Brek-Fest themed version of the classic Chicago song, “He Had It Coming.” Third was the blue team, basically yelling, “We’re going to do the wave,” over and over again. Although they lacked originality, the Bluceraptors made up for it in spirit.

Finally, the green team, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, assumed their positions, and the real cheering was on. After closing their introduction with rousing flips, cartwheels, and a great display of choreography, the green team received first place for the cheer contest. Energized and full of pep, the TIPsters were ready to begin the competition! First up, was a camp-wide event, Rock-Tree-Bridge.

A classic fest event, Rock-Tree-Bridge consists of teams racing to create an assembly line of body positions, trying to cross the finish line. After a few scrapes, bruises, and the knowledge that you were going to be sore in the morning, the Lightning Zebras crossed the finish line first.

The next events took place at some of the same times, with routine water breaks throughout, keeping the TIPsters healthily hydrated. Jello snarfling, a TIP favorite, went to the Lightning Zebras as did the sponge pass.

The yellow team also won cheesy poof face, a timed event in which one player’s face is covered in shaving cream and cheesy poofs are thrown at their face in hopes of sticking. The team with the most stuck to their faces wins.

The water balloon toss was a triumph for the green team. Yellow and blue were out quickly, with remnants of water balloons littering the grass. Down to red and green, one short toss by a member of the red team took down their chance of victory. The green team cheered!

Yellow’s top competitor, the Bluceraptors, won first place in basketball and the mystery water relay, a path walked by blindfolded TIPsters, while the staff threw water balloons at them.

Trivia was a close call. Originally in the lead was the green team, but then the yellow and blue teams came out of nowhere, challenging the green team for first. It all came down to the final trivia question, on which teams could wager their points.

Residential counselor, Carrie, read the question slowly, watching each team’s reaction, “Besides James and John, what is the next most popular president’s name?” The room grew quiet and tense, each team thinking through all the options. The yellow team, in the lead, seemed troubled, having to choose between two names. Finally, after the answers were turned in, it became clear that there was an obvious winner. Carrie read through each team’s answers, and then announced proudly, “The correct answer is William!”

The blue team erupted in screams and cheering, having won another event. After the final events, TIPsters gathered on the steps of Rutherford Hall, eagerly awaiting the results of the fest.

Residential counselor Geoff stepped forward, holding an important looking piece of paper in his hands. TIPsters could feel the air get tense as he began to read the results. Fourth place went to the Infernos and third went to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It all came down to this.

With a deep breath he announced that first place went to the Bluceraptors, with the Lightning Zebras receiving second place. The blue team cheered, the yellow team congratulated them, and the TIPsters rose from the steps, eager for a long, cool shower.

Profile of On-site Director Alex Pagnani

2009-07-21T12:44:00.001-07:00

Article compilation by M&M staffers/ Photo by Mary Scheirer

Alex Pagnani, contrary to popular belief, was never a Navy SEAL. He laughed as he told the Media and Message students during their interview, and explained how that was just a well-executed joke with the camp staff.
Pagnani, the On-Site Director (OSD) of Duke TIP at the University of Georgia, is currently working on his PhD in Gifted Education. He loves his job here at Duke TIP, since it builds on the topic he studies at UGA.
Before being in charge, Pagnani taught the courses “Human Intelligence” and “Intro to Psychology.” Pagnani was also the mind behind the popular “The Brain, Intelligence, and Creativity” class, which he was scheduled to teach.
There are definitely some drawbacks to being the camp’s OSD, he said. Whenever anything happens, he is always the one to call the parents, which can be stressful. “A lot of my time gets spent problem-solving instead of dealing with classes and residential activities,” Pagnani said. Last term was filled with issues, since it was the first ever Duke TIP camp at UGA. There was a widespread “TIP-plague,” as Pagnani called it, where around 70 students were sent to the doctor in the first two weeks. “Every time I would step out the door, my phone would go off,” he said.
Pagnani was born in 1980 in Ocean City, N.J., located on a little island in southern New Jersey. Pagnani said, “Ocean City was a ghost town two-thirds of the year.” He said this was because during the Summer months it would be packed with people coming to the beach, but after Labor Day the crowd would die out and 90 percent of the houses would be empty and the windows were boarded.
After high school, he attended the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, living in South Bend for six years. He considered Law for two years, but soon changed his mind, switching to major in gifted education.
One year after finals at Notre Dame, Pagnani decided to take a road trip around the United States. He and his grandfather had planned it, but Pagnani went alone since his grandfather had passed. Pagnani said that he came back with $100 in his bank account, but that it was worth it.
He said he was very fortunate to be able to travel as much as he has. Pagnani also studied abroad for a year in Japan. When people ask him to say something in Japanese, he likes to tell them that he is “a big blue eggplant.”
Although Pagnani’s determined and supportive personality lends itself to many professions, the on-site director believes he has found his right fit. Pagnani intends to continue working at TIP and hopes to continue his research on “residential gifted programs.”
Gifted* students, especially gifted under-achievers, are Pagnani’s main interest. After being placed in his school’s gifted program because he could read at an early age, Pagnani has worked with gifted students for years and is considering writing his dissertation on gifted college students.
Even though the job as OSD for Duke TIP at UGA is a strenuous one, Alex Pagnani seems to take it with stride. With a chuckle and a smile, Pagnani seems to have everything under control.

Profile of Academic Coordinator David Younker

2009-07-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

Article by M&M staffers/ Photos by Dan Weitzman

David Younker, the 25-year-old academic coordinator for DukeTIP at the University of Georgia, eagerly awaited the Monday press conference with the Media and Message class to begin.

“I’m looking forward to this,” he said. Finally, the recorder was switched on and the questions began.

“I just want to say, you know, that I’m here because I want to be here,” said Younker.

As academic coordinator, Younker’s primary job is to provide students and teachers with what they need. Younker, who has a self-professed “‘delegatory’ style of leadership,” oversees 17 people, visits classes, attends daily staff meetings and talks with students.

When asked about his opinion on students from UGA Terms I and II, Younker, who was the Criminal Law and Mock Trial instructor for the first term, said he believes there were more “characters” in his first term, but attributed this to Term II students being tired by the end of summer.

As a teacher for TIP, Younker could still name all 18 of his former students by first and last name. Now as the Academic Coordinator, Younker claims to know all students “by face.”

Younker got his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in May 2005 from UGA, and three days later, started taking classes for his Master’s Degree in Social Science Education. Shortly after obtaining that degree, he started on his law degree and graduated from UGA School of Law this past May.

“If I could ever give you a suggestion,” he said, “do not give yourself three and four day breaks between degrees. It’s a bad idea.”

Younker described law school as an “academic boot camp.” However, he worked his way through the challenges and is now studying for the Georgia State Bar exam, which he will take a week from tomorrow.

“There is just something about law that is just a common thread in society. The ability to help people, the ability for justice in society as much as we can make it a just system on Earth, which has limitations, there’s just something appealing to that,” he said.

In terms of what kind of law he wants to practice, Younker said, “I can’t be picky right now,” because the economy is suffering. He found a job application for DukeTIP through the law school’s ListServ, which is a commercial mailing list management system.

He applied and got the job to be a teacher for the Criminal Law and Mock Trial class first term.

After the first term was over, he had a week off before receiving a call from Durham, N.C., where Duke TIP is headquartered.

“They had an opening for an academic coordinator for a term that started in two days,” he said. “So that’s why I’m in this job now.”

However, he admitted that he liked teaching for TIP better than his new administrative position, because he was able to become closer with his students. But he does enjoy the flexibility of being the academic coordinator. “Functionality, for me getting ready for the Bar, this term was better than last term.”

There are many things that are important to Younker, and one of the biggest things is his faith.

“There are always people who give faith a bad name and call it religion,” he said. “Every single person deserves to be heard, deserves to have influence, and deserves to be accepted in a group.”

David describes his faith as a Christian as “the essence to who I am.”

Younker knows he’s not perfect, but he has clear views of who he wants to be.

“I would love for someone to tell me that I was a man with integrity and when I spoke it carried weight,” he said.

David Younker may sound like an ordinary man, but he definitely knows where’s he going and where he’s been.

Dance, dance

2009-07-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

By Yolanda Douglas
M&M staffer

Dances are part of the weekend tradition at all of the TIP campuses. This year at the new UGA campus that tradition was continued. TIPsters, boys and girls, are always excited about the up and coming dances on the weekend. They see it as a way to relax from the busy weekly class schedule.
It isn’t unusual for the dances to be themed; previous themes include: “Decade Dance”, “Black and White Formal”, “Luau” and “A Night under the Stars”. This year the themes chosen were “Hoedown Throw Down”, “Pirates vs. Ninja” and for the final dance to take place at the Tate Center, “TIP Prom”.
Usually students don’t ask others to the dance because everyone dances with each other; however, many thought since the theme was dubbed “prom”, it was necessary to have a date. On the other hand, some still agree that having a date is pointless.
“I don’t believe in having ‘dates’ for TIP dances because everyone dances with everyone. If you go with one person, you’re stuck with them the whole night, and I want to have fun,” said Lena Ray, a fourth year.
Some students don’t like the fact these dances are themed because they feel they are unprepared. During a press conference with RLC, Kevin Cane, a Media and Message student asked why newsletters aren’t sent out before students come to TIP, so they can prepare costumes for the dances. Kevin responded, “We didn’t have time. Students arrived the day after the Fourth of July holiday.”
Other students like the spontaneity. “I think they announced the themes too early this year. It takes away from the surprise,” a fourth year, Dan Weitzman said.
There are three songs played at every dance that are also TIP tradition: “Save Tonight”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, and “American Pie”. During these songs, TIPsters gather in a circle and wrap their arms around each other, which would show any onlooker how close TIP people are.
Since tonight is the last dance, when these songs are played, it will signify an end: the end of the last dance, the ending of a term, and the end of TIP for the fourth years.

Yolanda Douglas is a 4th year TIPster from Athens, Alabama.

Every Student Provides News: ESPN

2009-07-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

By Christopher Nesmith

M&M staffer

It is nearly impossible to put a figure on how many sports fans there are in the world. The number is simply insurmountable. Imagine reaching every sports fan, one-by-one, regardless of what sport they are a fan of.

ESPN has accomplished that.

The Entertainment Sports Programming Network, or ESPN, is an American media network that produces sports-related programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Recently, a class from the Duke Talent Identification Program at the University of Georgia, called Media and Message, was privileged enough to speak with a representative from ESPN, TJ Adeshola.

Adeshola spoke with the class via telephone conference about being successful journalists and media experts in today’s society. Adeshola works in an advertising and marketing group with ESPN.

“I wanted to understand corporate parts of the company,” Adeshola said when asked why he chose his field of advertising marketing, “The more I know about the company the more value I have.”

“It pays to know people,” Adeshola said. He is a prime example of this quote. Before working at ESPN, Adeshola found himself working various internships at places like Hot 107.9, a hip-hop radio station in Atlanta, Ga. He also managed clubs and did freelance journalism.

It wasn’t until he contacted a friend that interned for the Michael Irvin Show on ESPN radio in Dallas that his career began to take a turn for the better. His friend forwarded his information to ESPN Radio and gave him all the contact information he needed. Luckily for Adeshola, one of the contacts was at UGA covering the football game against Auburn.

“He loved me of course, just as everybody else does,” Adeshola joked with the class. The ESPN representative offered Adeshola a paid internship with ESPN in Bristol, Conn. That internship led to his current job at ESPN.

For someone that has aspirations to work for ESPN, Adeshola had a lot of positive advice.

“You gotta be a jack of all trades,” he said, “Everybody wants to be in the media.”

He told one student that dreams of working for ESPN, “You gotta be the best of the best,” and, “Be a go-getter.”

That student has played basketball and other sports all of his life. He absolutely loves sports and can sit and talk about sports all day. Thus the student feels that if he didn’t get lucky and play in the NBA, a job coaching or better yet a job at ESPN would be the best thing for his life. Adeshola told the student that it was important to brand oneself and be good at everything.

Adeshola ended the conference by answering a few “take your pick” questions. Among the questions were Celtics or Lakers, Duke or UNC, and Kobe or LeBron. Despite Adeshola having the exact opposite picks as that one aspiring student (Adeshola picked Celtics, UNC, and LeBron), every word that Adeshola spoke stuck in that one young student’s head and it only drove him to work harder to achieve his ultimate goal – to be a sports analyst for "The Worldwide Leader in Sports."

ESPN.

Christopher Nesmith is a 4th year TIPster from Lithonia, Ga. You can watch him below give a pre-game interview before competing in a basketball game at TIP in the embedded video below or watch him hit a big three to propel his blue team to victory.

Carnival a Fun New TIP at UGA First

2009-07-21T07:55:00.001-07:00

By Rose Fox and Kelly Rosch
M&M Staffers

On Sunday July 19, 2009, the Duke TIP staff at the University of Georgia (UGA) campus hosted the first TIP carnival on Myers Quad to give students a break from their busy schedule.
Residential Counselors, who students call “RCs”, had previously told their groups that the event would be a five-hour long nutrition seminar on physical health. After the fair, many students recalled having suspicions about these statements.
The carnival began in the early afternoon and lasted until 5 p.m. Some staff members manned cotton candy machines, made snow cones, ran fortune telling and handwriting analysis booths, and assisted in face-painting. Other staffers patrolled the inflatable obstacle course and pirate ship.
TIPsters, students who attend TIP, were enthusiastic about the carnival and activities. Sterling Richards, a third-year TIPster, was interviewed after climbing out of the unstable pirate ship. “I liked the handwriting analysis,” she responded when asked about her favorite activity, “that was pretty cool.”
Theary Tiep, the student counselor for TIP, sat patiently by and analyzed students’ handwriting underneath a booth on the right side of the carnival. Tiep was able to pinpoint personality traits by observing patterns in TIPsters’ writing.
“Your handwriting is a representation of who you are,” said Tiep. Many TIPsters granted that Tiep was spot-on with her analysis, which she acknowledged was purely for entertainment value and should not be taken as a concrete perception of personality. “You know yourself best,”she assured students.
In addition to rides, students could also join games such as Frisbee, mini-golf, and Nerf gun fights. Geoff Toy, a third year boys group RC, was in charge of photographing these and other activities for a TIP slideshow.
“This is the third summer I’ve been part of the slideshow committee,” he said, “so I’m used to taking pictures of everything.” At the time of the interview, Geoff had taken twenty pictures of the carnival and a total of three-hundred pictures over the course of the whole term. When asked if he had ridden any rides, Geoff responded that “No, we’re not supposed to. We’re on patrol duty,” continuing, “it’s good, the rides are for you guys.”
One of the most notable activities was the “RC Dunk Tank,” where TIPsters could throw a ball to try and hit a button that would drop a staffer into the water below. Ross, a second-year TIPster, explained that “you don’t even have to hit the button. If you hit a bar they go down.” Carrie, a girls RC, reported getting dunked at least fifteen times.
“The water is warm,” she mentioned, “It’s cold when you get out of the water and the wind is blowing.”
Second term TIPsters were lucky. The UGA TIP staff attempted to hold the carnival during the previous term but was unable to meet the deadline.
Before being allowed to venture onto the quad, students were warned to behave reasonably at the risk of the carnival being cancelled for future terms. Nevertheless, multiple TIPsters reported burns on their skin from rides, one student suffered a jaw injury, and another broke a bone in her hand.
Despite these injuries, staffers fully intend to bring the TIP carnival back to UGA next year. The TIP community started the final week of the 2009 TIP season with camaraderie and enthusiasm, giving students a reason to remember the day they came together to create the newest TIP campus tradition.

TIP at UGA holds a Carnival!

2009-07-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Duke TIPsters gathered Sunday on the steps of Rutherford Hall for what they were told would be a talk from a nutrionist. This was all a rouse. Instead, a surprise carnival was in store.

Below are some videos from the first Carnival at Duke TIP at UGA.

RC Carrie gets dunked into water:

Fortune telling!

Handwriting analysis:

Face painting:

M&M Staffer Rose Fox provides an overview of some of the carnival attractions:

M&M Staffer Kelly Rosch is excited to get a snow cone and puts cotton candy to good use.

TV News Blogger Talks With M&M Class

2009-07-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

Story by M&M staffers/Photo from Ginny's Flickr page

"I'm about to call you," pops up in Instructor Geoffrey Graybeal's Skype chat box and the video chat ring tone sets the atmosphere ablaze with excitement of the children's first video chat.

Ginny Skalski's face appears on the large projector screen with a large smile spread across it. Once the Media and Message class get their webcam set up and other students prepare to Tweet, Ginny can see them as well. Skalski notes the lack of male children. "Girl power!" she cheers.

Skalski, the community manager for the local television affiliate of NBC-17 in Raleigh, N.C., spoke Wednesday to the 18 “M&M” students at TIP at UGA. She has two blogs, the 30 Threads and Ginny From the Blog, both of which she runs as part of her duties for NBC-17. While 30 Threads is a blog covering the news in Raleigh, N.C., Ginny From the Blog talks more about the human aspects of the city.

"I'm actually sitting right where the anchors sit," she told us and then proceeded to give us a tour around the NBC studio. The studio is full of monitors and computers, a green screen for the meteorologists, and cubicles for the reporters and managers. But Skalski's job is not really in the studio. It's on the computer.

Skalski used to be a newspaper reporter, however, she realized that the way people receive news was rapidly changing and decided to venture into the world of online communications.

Starting as a blogger, Skalski realized that blogging was not just some activity for the unemployed or a platform on which to ramble on about one’s beliefs. Rather, she realized that bloggers could also be “citizen journalists” that attend community events such as school board meetings and then report on them.

In fact, blogs are becoming an important news source for major news stations like the one Skalski works for. More and more, jobs such as community manager are springing up where news stations need someone to troll local blogs for stories about the area.

She also encourages others to create their own blogs and gave a few pointers for those just starting out. First, Skalski said, "Identify a topic and stick with it." Blogs can be about a variety of things from one's personal life, news, opinions, act as a support system, or even about their pet. Let readers know what you're all about.

"My blog just ended up being something that people really identify with."

Skalski also stressed the point of Internet safety.

"I encourage people to think before you post." She also suggested students consider making their blog private or writing anonymously.

Skalski then took questions from the students, answering their inquiries of how she came to be a blogger, why she had wanted to do that and so forth. Throughout the interview, she stressed the importance of staying open to new possibilities, especially in the rapidly advancing technological world.

The students who were live blogging the talk on Twitter had so much to say about the Web chat that they overloaded the @DukeTIPDawgs account. However, before this happened, one last blogger Tweeted:

"[Ginny believes] you have to always be paying attention to what the next big thing is. Try new things, especially online."

Video: Student-Staff Ultimate Frisbee Competition

2009-07-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

Here's video from yesterday's Staff versus Student Ultimate Frisbee competition. Like usual, the staff dominated.

M&M Term II Multimedia Project No. 4

2009-07-17T12:41:00.001-07:00

M&M Term II Student Multimedia Project No. 3

2009-07-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Term II M&M Multimedia Project No. 2

2009-07-17T12:25:00.000-07:00