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[Matlock]

"C-Minus"

 

[BuddyC]

drop this class asap.

except I can't, because it's required by my major. and i need to take it this semester to as a prerequisite for the next class.

oh, and I need to get a B or above.

 

[Matlock]

Haha, you poor bastard.

What about piracy?

 

[IJoel]

It's probably a class project due at the end of the semester. Why drop it? Hell, I've had to do huge projects for some design courses that in the end, I've ended up with documents with 200 pages or so.

Assuming it's a class project due at the end (or that you have a long time to do it) you can easily do the 80 pages. The trick is in the topic you choose, how deep it is, and how you attack and decompost the issue.)

 

[BuddyC]

Haha, you poor bastard.

What about piracy?

File sharing is a no go, but I'm sure I could wiggle my way into it. The brilliant part is, whatever I choose...that's what I'll be doing every day for the next 12 weeks. So I need to choose wisely.

 

[Archaix]

except I can't, because it's required by my major. and i need to take it this semester to as a prerequisite for the next class.

oh, and I need to get a B or above.

any other professors teach this class? What major are you in, anyway? Finally, is it 80 pages of actual writing that you alone are responsible for?

 

[RevenantKioku]

Damn, you can't use the "D is for Done" philosophy then...
You're boned Buddy. You're boned.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

Medicinal Marijuana. Mainly for the reason that anytime one of those annoying "Hey doodz drugs are totally bad for you" You could have the pleasure of saying "Well actually......" Then backing it up with 80 pages of solid facts.

 

[BuddyC]

any other professors teach this class? What major are you in, anyway? Finally, is it 80 pages of actual writing that you alone are responsible for?

Nope, this is the only professor in the course. It's Journalism 102, I'm a Journalism major.

And yes, I would be responsible for writing the entire paper, though some of it will be summarizing the information. It's due at the end of the semester, so no, it's really not that bad...except if I can't find enough sources.

I'm still in class thus far, so I'll check out the recommendations later tonight and see how many sources I can pull up, including local experts and the ilk.

 

[MIMIC]

My suggestion: The 2000 Election, and voter disenchantment in general?

 

[Archaix]

Jesus christ, I'm glad I don't go to your school. I'm in journalism too, and the worst I've had was that 30 page group project that I can't really remember doing last semester...I remember getting a B+ in the class though...

 

[Kobun Heat]

How about Japanese internment?

 

[BlackMage]

what's your final? Writing a book and having to get it published and on the new york times best seller list?

 

[MIMIC]

what's your final? Writing a book and having to get it published and on the new york times best seller list?

He also have to right an extensive review of his book and manage to get interviewed by Wolf Blitzer, Matt Lauer, and Tom Brokaw.

 

[TheQueen'sOwn]

As if the prof is gonna read 80 pages from all the students....

 

[Eminem]

:lol :lol @Archaix's 30 page paper he can't remember

what's your final? Writing a book and having to get it published and on the new york times best seller list?

:lol:lol


Out of the ones mentioned, I actually like the energy one the most.

 

[tedtropy]

drop this class asap.

And then spend whatever refund money you get back on drugs. Booya!

 

[belgurdo]

Write 1 page about the interpretation of art in all of its various forms, particularly in the printed word, and how you can obtain meaning from nothing, then tack on 79 blank pages

 

[Leon]

The social responsibilities of pharmaceutical companies is a good one. There's at least 10 pages on AIDS, and how they're not doing enough about it.
Talk about how mere habits are marketed into full-fledged diseases to sell more of the drugs they make.
Talk about how pharma companies have the biggest profit margin by FAR, and that's why you can't get medicine for a reasonable price anymore. And they still manage to spend a FRACTION of that for charities/etc...To put it in perspective, Bill Gates spent more than all the pharma companies combined, if I remember correctly. Also, the major part of their profit goes to MARKETING and not R&D.
Also, pharmas, behind their "socially responsible" image, are doing their utmost BEST to extend patents to prevent generic drugs from being produced in countries who need them. You can find numbers saying that in some places, an average worker's salary isn't enough to pay for treatment.

Anyway, either that or porn.

I'd do it on music, personally. Sex in music and how it affects the newer generations. The good (opens minds at a younger age, ie acceptance of homosexuals, etc...), the bad (opens minds TOO much, with the newer trend of rampant "lesbianism" and whorism among 13 year olds), and the ugly (hypocrisy surrounding Jackson's nipple while half-naked chicks remain in Ludacris videos).

Or not.

 

[belgurdo]

How about both AIDS and porn? The medical stuff will take care of at least 50 pages, and you get to pad out your porno mag collection in the process too

 

[Cubsfan23]

Steroids/Steroids testing in Sports

 

[Hournda]

PEAK OIL. That's a topic that's original, interesting and will actually have an impact on your life in the near future.

 

[Phoenix]

Pornography, are the classics better tahan the new stuff.

Masturbation, does it really make you go blind.

or if you REALLY want to get 80 pages...

Sony vs Sega vs Nintendo vs Microsoft, which is the true king of video game consoles! Hell you can copy the gaming forum and get 80 pages per day

 

[BuddyC]

Is there anything to gain from this paper?

experience, i guess.

 

[fart]

why rupert murdoch is a fucking faggot with an anus the size of his distended home continent NORSTRILIA

for the research regurgitation part you can reprint the pictures i have of high paid escorts shoving coke cans up it

 

[RevenantKioku]

experience, i guess.

I don't know much about journalism, but there just seems to be a lot of wasted time in this project.
But I originally thought that this might have been for a senior seminar class. They do stupid shit close to that in the ones my school offers.

 

[shoplifter]

My suggestions:

Media deregulation/consolidation or DMCA.

There should be plenty you could write about with DMCA out there.

 

[BuddyC]

I don't know much about journalism, but there just seems to be a lot of wasted time in this project.

that would sum up my experience with college.

 

[firex]

I think you should turn in a proposal that says nothing but "Kill whitey!"

Oh yeah, and projects like these, with the end result being all the moronic talking heads and pathetic reporters on news stations across the country, are why journalism is such a bullshit degree and shouldn't even be taught at colleges. As much as they'll try to tell you otherwise, you learn far more about actual reporting and newswork doing the job, or an internship, than you do in ANY of the classes you ever take for journalism. Which is why I dropped that major before I got too far into it.

 

[BuddyC]

I think you should turn in a proposal that says nothing but "Kill whitey!"

Oh yeah, and projects like these, with the end result being all the moronic talking heads and pathetic reporters on news stations across the country, are why journalism is such a bullshit degree and shouldn't even be taught at colleges. As much as they'll try to tell you otherwise, you learn far more about actual reporting and newswork doing the job, or an internship, than you do in ANY of the classes you ever take for journalism. Which is why I dropped that major before I got too far into it.

Oh trust me, I know. They're sitting there stressing the importance of portfolios and talking about the "real world" - how when I do interviews I'll need to write fast, blah blah...and I just want to go off about how I've been there and we have a wonderful invention called the tape recorder.

I can't drop this major though. I'm entering my third year at college, and I just switched from Computer Science to Journalism. I've already got a Computer Applications minor in the bag, but if I switch one more time, well, it's going to be at least another 3 years at college...

 

[firex]

3 years of college as opposed to a lifetime of doing something you hate just because you want to make your parents happy in the short term isn't the way to go, that's all I can say. I'm in my last semester of college, and I've been going for 4 and a half years. I have lots of grad school to go through as well after I graduate... but I'm doing something I like instead of something I found out I don't want to do, even if I would have graduated already by sticking with it.

On the other hand, switching majors because of one awful class isn't the wisest thing to do, either. If journalism is something you really want to do, at least you can be satisfied knowing you won't have to suffer through too many more stupid classes like that after you get your BA.

 

[way more]

And then spend whatever refund money you get back on drugs. Booya!

Because it's never to early for a journalist to start drinking.

 

[BuddyC]

3 years of college as opposed to a lifetime of doing something you hate just because you want to make your parents happy in the short term isn't the way to go, that's all I can say. I'm in my last semester of college, and I've been going for 4 and a half years. I have lots of grad school to go through as well after I graduate... but I'm doing something I like instead of something I found out I don't want to do, even if I would have graduated already by sticking with it.

On the other hand, switching majors because of one awful class isn't the wisest thing to do, either. If journalism is something you really want to do, at least you can be satisfied knowing you won't have to suffer through too many more stupid classes like that after you get your BA.

Here's how my train of thought went:

"What do I want to do with my life?"
"What I'm doing now, playing games and talking about them."
"How can I turn that into a career?"
"Journalism."

 

[Archaix]

Here's how my train of thought went:

"What do I want to do with my life?"
"What I'm doing now, playing games and talking about them."
"How can I turn that into a career?"
"Journalism."

Have you ever read anything by gaming journalists? You don't exactly need a degree

Slowly realizing I should shut up before somebody points out the same thing about sports journalists...

Ahem...anyway.

 

[firex]

In that case, I'd seriously consider switching majors. You have to think of the long term. It obviously doesn't take any journalistic skill to work for a gaming magazine, either. I went into journalism for the exact same reasons you did... and I realized that it wasn't going to be a very feasible idea, so I looked at other interests I had. That's what I suggest you do. It may piss off your parents in the short run, but when you graduate with a degree in a field you actually want to work in, they'll forget all about that. Besides, it's your life, even if they're paying for your college. I don't know about you, but I'd rather get the degree and career I want the first time I'm in college, instead of having to work at some job I hate for 5 or 10 years just to earn the money to go back and get a degree in something I can work at without wanting to shoot myself in the head.

 

[BuddyC]

My favorite part of the class is that the teacher refuses to learn our names or really help us out until after the first few weeks, since a third of the class generally drops within the first two weeks. I can't help but wonder if it's a self-fulfilled prophecy here - the fact that she has no faith in us whatsoever really isn't inspiring in the slightest.

 

[AfroLuffy]

Jesus, this discussion is really depressing.

I just applied to University of Florida Journalism department for similar reasons-- game editor and/or movie critic/pundit...

Please tell me you aren't attending UF, because I have enough trouble writing term papers. -_-

Time to switch to archaeology!

 

[Phoenix]

Jesus, this discussion is really depressing.

I just applied to University of Florida Journalism department for similar reasons-- game editor and/or movie critic/pundit...

Please tell me you aren't attending UF, because I have enough trouble writing term papers. -_-

Time to switch to archaeology!

You're going into journalism and expecting to not have to do writing? Hmmm....

 

[RevenantKioku]

You're going into journalism and expecting to not have to do writing? Hmmm....

I'm fairly ignorant on journalism as a career, but how often do you do 80 page works?

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

Stem cell research.

Pretty much the same as abortion, considering the main arguement against it is from the pro-life folks.

I actually did my final presentation on stem cell research in my communications class last semester. Everyone chose a heated topic. It was hilarious.

 

[videogamer]

Pretty much the same as abortion, considering the main arguement against it is from the pro-life folks.

I actually did my final presentation on stem cell research in my communications class last semester. Everyone chose a heated topic. It was hilarious.

There's a lot more to stem cell research than just embryos. The OP could write about the issue of cloning for the purpose of creating new stem cells without using embryos and the issue of adult stem cells.

 

[AfroLuffy]

You're going into journalism and expecting to not have to do writing? Hmmm....

Not exactly, I just have issues with procrastination.

I have a history of doing myself no favors by waiting until the last minute on writing assignments. Often they lack polish, conciseness, and are close bedfellows to shallow thought.

I place all the blame on my professors, content to hand out satisfactory scores regardless of effort--please cease giving me low A's & high B's for BS work, it's only perpetuating my lazyness and encouraging a mentality of underachievement!

how often do you do 80 page works?

I'm also curious to know this.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

There's a lot more to stem cell research than just embryos.

The OP could write about the issue of cloning for the purpose of creating new stem cells without using embryos and the issue of adult stem cells.

But you just said...

Why not clone using embryonic cells, if it isn't for the abortion issue? I can't think of too many other issues that make this such a hot topic. I guess he could write 80 pages on the issue of "playing god" through cloning (humans, organs, whatever), but eh.

 

[firex]

I thought of a topic that might be decent and not too controversial, BuddyC.

Discuss how piracy of multimedia has and has not affected the industries, investigating to see if either side (groups like the RIAA, MPAA and so on; I know there aren't any real piracy advocacy groups, but use sales figures or industry profits) is distorting the truth and how much they are.

Does this have to be a hard news piece, or is it op-ed? The hard news of uncovering if piracy really damages the music, movie and videogame industries as much as the anti-piracy groups claim it does could be interesting and sounds like it wouldn't fall under file sharing, as it's more an investigation of the anti-piracy organizations themselves.

 

[Patrick Klepek]

that sounds like a shitty journalism class. i fail to see what researching 80 pages would do to enhance your skills. writing 8 5 page stories would be far superior, less work and more entertaining. christ.

 

[Lambtron]

The thing that shocks me the most about this is that it's an 80 page paper in a 100-level course. That's absolutely ridiculous. But it saves the professor from having to teach, well, just about anything, because you're all tied up with the paper all semester, rah.

I was going to second, third, or whatever, the suggestion to do it on Clear Channel and media conglomerates.

 

[videogamer]

But you just said...

Why not clone using embryonic cells, if it isn't for the abortion issue? I can't think of too many other issues that make this such a hot topic. I guess he could write 80 pages on the issue of "playing god" through cloning (humans, organs, whatever), but eh.

I'm sorry, I'm a bit lost in this so I'll try to give my best response. By talking about cloning embryos, the OP can still talk about stem cells but skirt the issue of abortion. Along with adult stem cells, the OP can talk about the currect research and future prospects of these methods.

 

[White Man]

Easy topic to fill 80 pages: The American (or more broadly the westrern world's) obsession with paranoia.

You could cite everything from public events of the past 50 years to popular contemporary literature. The research would be really fun to do. Reading nutjob theories about the CIA connections to Propaganda Due, MKULTRA, Jonestown, Illuminatus!, The X-Files, Foucault's Pendulum. . .being a journalism class you could tell all the stories as well.

Heavily socialized people appear to like having a bit of manic fear and mystery in their lives. Writers realize this and capitalize, but I don't think anyone has truly tried to disassemble this love of paranoia. I'd take a stab at it myself (and maybe I will when it comes time to snipe scholarships), but I'm currently too busy feeding my own paranoia appetite by underlining meaningful passages in my copy of The Crying of Lot 49. Pynchon foreva.

EDIT: It's more human interest than debated public issue, but I think a well-writen page about the goals of writing this paper should adequately dazzle any teacher enough for them to greenlight it.

 

[border]

That assignment is fucking ridiculous. I can barely even believe this story, and would almost consider it a "joke post" if it wasn't for the fact that there was nothing really funny about it. The task you have been given would be pretty daunting for even an experienced full-time journalist, much less a college journalism student who is dealing with 4-6 classes at the same time.

STEP 1: Complain to the department chair. As far as I can tell, 80 pages is too much for any undergrad in any major. Granted, I go to a college for fuckups and dullards, but I don't think that even Ivy League institutions require their students to write half of a book. Make sure to tell department administrators that the class is on the verge of you making you give up your major.....if that doesn't persuade them then they are clearly all a bunch of evil robots.

STEP 2: If the department won't listen, keep dropping the class until you get a professor that doesn't have such ludicrous requirements. I doubt that every single one of the available teachers is forcing their students into this.

Switching majors because of one shitty class should be a last resort, in any case.

 

[tenchir]

Journalism 102??????? Is it an introductory course or what?