katrina linden

notre dame 2016. american studies, journalism, latino studies.

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Chido Johnson's Inner Vission II

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Music used from Kevin McLeod's Sunflower Dance Party-royalty free

http://incompetech.com/wordpress/2015/01/sunflower-dance-party/

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Snapchat becomes a viable news source with new Discover update

Snapchat users can now get their daily news and entertainment updates while “snapchatting” cat pictures through the new Discover feature the popular smart phone social media applicationintroduced last month.

CNN, Comedy Central, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Daily Mail, ESPN, Food Network, National Geographic, People, VICE, Yahoo! News, and Warner Music Groups teamed up with Snapchat to produce new “stories” each day for users to view repeatedly over a 24-hour period. Each day the “stories” are updated with new content.

Some “stories,” like those of CNN, Yahoo! News, and Comedy Central, feature tending news stories and funny skits. While Cosmopolitan, Daily Vice, People, and the others feature sound bites and clips of interesting articles and recipes.

For the most part, company “stories” include 4 to 7 short previews varying from 1 to 10 seconds each. If the user is interested in the story, he or she can then swipe up and read full articles, view recipes, and watch music videos or skits directly from the company’s website. If they are not interested, they can swipe left or right to leave the company’s story.

Through the Discover feature, not only is the company deciding what the user—a primarily 13 to 25 year-old female demographic according to Forbes—wants to see, but the user can actively choose what he or she wants to consumer, from comedy to current events.

The update came after Snapchat introduced the geo-location based Live Feed feature in which people at a particular event could post pictures and videos of themselves and others at events Snapchat deemed important enough to cover. Live Feed began with the World Cup in Brazil during summer 2014 and took off from there.

Events like football games, award shows, and national holidays throughout the world were featured. Everyday users of the app could record videos of themselves cheering and enjoying events and share them to audiences throughout the world. Live Feeds are available for as long as an event is going on, usually 24 to 48 hours, and are viewable to all users on the app.

Most recently, Live Feeds for Je Suis Charlie in France, Australia Day, and the infamous Snowpocalypse of Jan. 2015 were featured as important feeds.

During Snowpocalypse, the nickname for winter storm Juno, which turned out to be a far less sever than expected in most parts, Snapchat users in the northwest took to the streets and to their phones to document the event.

The Snapchat Live Feed of "Snowpocalypse," like other Feeds, featured geo-location filters for users to apply. source

“Reporting live,” giddy teenagers and adults stated at the beginning of their snaps before continuing to perform a mock newscast. People pretended to be newscaster for a short ten seconds until they signed-off with “back to you,” speaking to imaginary news stations. Within those ten seconds, users can get a sense for the general atmosphere of particular events.

 The Live Feed feature allows users to take the news into their own hands, even if that be in a comedic manner. In turn, viewers feel connected to a particular event, connecting people from thousands of miles away.

With new features being added to Snapchat (including the money sharing feature Snapchat installed similar to that of Venmo), pretty frequently, the application may begin to lose its user-base—one used to a one-function application that allowed users to check in on friends quickly and easily throughout the day. The lack of constant updates to stories that consumers are used to may draw users away from the Discover feature. Although, in a technology based society, an all-doing app may be just what is needed. With a few touch-ups to the Discover feature, Snapchat may become one of the most important applications of 2015.

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Not so diverse or inclusive

While Notre Dame is ranked among the top twenty universities in the United States it still fails to exhibit its mission of “diversity and inclusion.”

In 2014, Notre Dame ranked 24th nationwide in economic diversity, a U.S. News and World Report ranking said.

According to the report, only 12% of the university’s 8,000 undergraduate students qualified for the Pell Grant—a federal grant awarded to students of incomes around or below $20,000.

Only 14% of students had family incomes below $60,000. Compared to the median U.S. household income of $52,000, the majority of Notre Dame students live relatively comfortably.

These statistics can lend to a general feeling of isolation on the part of low-income students.

“There are not enough resources or safe places made available to students who struggle financially in order to be here. The university isn't entirely honest to [low income students]. …There is so much more that goes into being able to attend this university than an acceptance letter and a decent financial aid package…” Carlisia McCord, junior, Notre Dame, said. 

“There have been a number of steps taken in the wake of my report to improve the climate for minority and economically disadvantaged students,” Matthew Storin, Former Chief Communications Executive at Notre Dame, said in an email interview.

“Among these are better sharing of information with rectors and hall staffs regarding incoming freshmen…better training of hall staffs on these issues, greater publicity for rectors' funds that are available for incidental expenses…and various other steps.”

Storin conducted extensive interviews with students on the issue and was a a key part of the university’s Oversight Committee on Diversity and Inclusion earlier last year.

“It is my belief that the most important need is for diversity to become an inherent value rather than a goal at Notre Dame. This requires, especially, strong, even passionate, commitment from the senior most officers, particularly Fr. Jenkins,” Storin said.

Father Joe Corpora, Dillon Hall priest, was shocked to find that a student lack health insurance, a luxury often taken for granted. 

In his Nov. 2014 Observer Viewpoint Fr. Corpora said, “Now is the time for the University to take seriously the presence of economically poor students here. The University must commit itself to establishing an office or a center that will serve the needs of our economically poor students.” 

“I hope that Notre Dame will continue to intentionally recruit economically poor students, but the University must make a new commitment so that every student can live the Notre Dame experience. Now is the time,” Corpora said.

Fr. Corpora is right, Fr. Jenkins. Now is the time to recognize the need for a more supportive and de-stigmatized conversation about wealth. It is your responsibility to support our most disadvantaged and struggling at the university. You cannot expect to throw a student into a campus with little to no resources or understanding of how to survive economically at Notre Dame and expect to see him or her prosper. Now is the time, Fr. Jenkins.

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