#11 CIVICS

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) 

I am an international student from Nepal. I came to the US in Spring 2015. Ever since then I have been treated differently in different places in the US that I have been to. International students are the ones who are usually treated in different ways. Sometimes it maybe good and sometimes it maybe be bad. We are generally known as the "outsiders". The reason why we do not stay in our country for our further studies is that there is not much scope of good education like it is in the US. Hence, the good situation of education and developed condition of the States pulls us towards this country in order to peruse education. 

There are almost everything that is impossible for the international students to pursue in the States. Attaining education here is doubly expensive for us. In order to get a job, it is whole other story for us. We actually have no way to get a work permit to work here. However, when there was an earthquake in Nepal in April 2015, since then a rule has been applied for us. The rule indicates that we can apply for TPS (Temporary Protected Status) and if we are able to get that, basically, we get to work here legally because through TPS we are able to obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). But it isn't as easy as it sounds.

I had applied for TPS in fall 2016 and I still haven't received my EAD card. The weird part here is that me and my sister had applied together and her EAD has arrived already and she has already started working in a bank here in Magnolia. Whereas my EAD is taking the longest to get here. It took them a few months to send me an approval letter saying that my TPS has been accepted so I really don't understand why is it taking them so long to just send me my EAD card. Not only in my case but some of my friends have been victimized with same problem.

Link: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status/temporary-protected-status-designated-country-nepal

Basically, what I want to point out in this blog is that I think things should be made a little bit easier for us internationals because some of us work really hard and those who work hard should be at least given some opportunities to prove themselves.

#10 LISTENING POST

Listening Post (Campus)

According to me, a listening post is something that gives me bunch of information. When I go somewhere, I end up collected many information, ideas, and thoughts on various topics. Thoroughly catching on to them and creating an understand through it is important to me which I can do by listening posts. My main source of news and information is my cellphone indeed but it won't be wrong for me to say that whenever I am in my campus, either in classroom or at work (on campus), I always end up getting information on recent topics of interest. This has truly made me a more informative person than I was before.

Basically, I depend on my Campus to provide me with information that is necessary for me to obtain and understand. I have six classes this semester and I until this point of the semester, I think I have been provided with much information through my classes, my professors and my friends at my on campus work. Especially three of my media classes which are Report and Writing for the Mass Media, Principles of Public Relations, and International Mass Media have provided me with the maximum amount of information.

I depend on my class and my professors whenever I want some basic information about stuff. First I do look for them on my phone but when I would always prefer face to face information for good understand and proper idea. 

#9 PUBLIC RECORDS (STATE, NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL)

Local (Columbia County final divorce degrees October 2017)

Below mentioned are the list of final divorce degrees in Columbia County during October 2017. Most recent ones are enlisted first. 

Lainey Sims v. Cody Sims. October 10.

Robert L. Dumas v. Melanie K. Dumas. October 6. Married June 16, 2001.

Aaron D. Wallis v. William Kyle White. October 5. Married October 18, 2016.

Amy Emerson v. Chase Emerson. October 5. Married July 9, 2011.

Elizabeth Anne Lee v. Brian Keith Lee. October 5. Married October 19, 2001.

Debra Diane Green v. Gabriel Ryan Green. October 5. Married September 7. 2013.

Tracy L. Jones v. Debbie Jones. October 5. Married August 17, 2017. Defendant restored to surname of Sears.

Lindsey Grappe v. Austin Grappe. October 5. Married July 28, 2012. Plaintiff restored to surname of Walters.

Sandy M. Houck v. Larry J. Lee Houck. October 5. Married February 9, 2013.

Miranda K. Shackleford v. Brayden O. Dees. October 5. Married November 15, 2015.

David Cole Bell v. Nancy Laine Smith Bell. October 5.

Source: http://www.magnoliareporter.com/news_and_business/public_records/article_c38e5c10-b08e-11e7-af63-87ff09aab04b.html

#8 PUBLIC RECORDS

Ouachita County Arkansas' Most Wanted

The following individuals are wanted persons by the Ouachita County Sheriff's Department for outstanding warrants issued by the Circuit Court of Ouachita County.

1. Selina Liscand is a white female born on August 13, 1979. She is wanted for Felony Bench Warrant. She failed to show up for her trial so now she has beem enlisted as one of the most wanted in Ouachita County, AR. According to sources, her possible location is East Camden, AR.

2. Raymond D. Johnson is a black male born on November 20, 1982. He is wanted for Recovation of Probation. He failed to pay the additional fines, manage to get a counseller and attend other treatment programs. According to sources, his possible location is Camden, AR.

3. Erik Kirtz is a black male born on May 19, 1988. He is wanted for Recovation of Probation. He failed to pay the additional fines, manage to get a counseller and attend other treatment programs. According to sources, his possible location is Camden, AR.

4. Jeremy D. Wingfield is a black male born on October 7, 1992. He is wanted for Felony Bench Warrant. He failed to show up for her trial so now he has beem enlisted as one of the most wanted in Ouachita County, AR. According to sources, his possible location is Rosston, AR.

#7 CAMPUS FEATURE NEWS

UChicago Softball goes abroad

The UChicago Softball team kicked off their summer with a trip to Australia, a week-and-a-half journey that offered the players the chance to eat shrimp on the barbie with Australian state softball teams and snorkel through the Great Barrier Reef. The team showed off their skills on the field, but training wasn’t their primary focus when they ventured abroad. Instead, the trip was about bonding, learning, and experiencing a new culture, said Coach Ruth Kmak. With the opportunity only available every four years, the women took full advantage of being thousands of miles from home.

The team had the chance to step on the field to play the Queensland team of Brisbane and the New South Wales team of Sydney, the Australian state teams that will soon compete for the national championship. Though the Australian team players and the Maroons are at different points in their careers, they all came to the field to play the same game. The Maroons took this opportunity to enjoy the new competition while changing up players’ positions, reminding them that the goal was to have fun.

“It was incredible to watch these women play against a strong Australian team, and it was even more enjoyable to listen to the conversations being had. [It was] a true learning experience for all,” assistant coaches Alyssa Davis and Alex Chiodo wrote in the team's travel blog about their game in Brisbane. These conversations often occurred during post-game team dinners which were highlights of the trip for Kmak. “They’re a great opportunity for our student athletes to sit down and talk to these players from another country,” she said about the beloved tradition.

Along with the enriching conversations came a lot of food, a perk for any athlete, but especially those having just played a game.

From Brisbane, the team made their way to Cairns, where they ventured into the Outback. Their brief bout involved emu sightings, a traditional pub lunch, and cave explorations a favorite experience for many of the team members.

“We visited two caves and saw the fossilized remains of the ancient coral reefs with hidden limestone labyrinths creating incredible underground worlds. We studied stalagmites and stalactites and learned about the bats and other wildlife living meters underground,” players Alexa Hanelin and Serena Moss wrote. The next day the team went snorkeling through the Great Barrier Reef, learning about the ocean’s wildlife and debunking various myths about the Reef as they swam through the waters.

It’s experiences like seeing the Great Barrier Reef and exploring Bondi Beach in Sydney the final leg of their trip that will linger with the team long after they leave UChicago, Kmak said. The trips have also become growth opportunities for the players; Kmak added that adventurous and inquisitive UChicago students appreciate the opportunity to be free to explore new cultures as much as possible.

While UChicago supports teams’ efforts to take these types of journeys, it’s the coaching staff and athletes who make it possible with three years of planning. From fundraising to signing waivers and travel forms, it’s nonstop work until they’re on the plane. Still, the payoff is worth it. “It’s an outstanding opportunity that we have because we’re at a great university that supports and values those types of growth experiences,” Kmak said.

This year’s trip was not the team’s first. Over the past 16 years, the softball team has ventured to Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Spain, each trip involving a new team and different adventures. However each trip has left players with stronger bonds, new experiences, and stories to be told.

#6 CAMPUS CRIME

North Lake College Gunman

 

Where did the shooting take place? 

 

On May 4th 2017, there was a shooting in a very well known community college in Irving, Texas. Janeera Nickol Gonzalez, one of the students of North Lake College was found shot to death in a common study area inside the Performance Hall building around noon on that very day, shortly after the school went into lock down because a shooter was reported on campus.

Officers found the body of the gunman, 21 year old Adrian Victor Torres, inside a locker room shower stall in Building F, which is adjacent to the North Lake Aquatic Center. He has what appeared to be self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. 

Gonzalez's mother, Lucia Gonzalez, told WFAA-TV that her daughter didn't see Torres as a threat. "He had been stalking her for quite a while, but she didn't make anything of it," she said. Lucia Gonzalez also said that her daughter hadn't dated Torres and that the two weren't friends. She told that Torres had left North Lake to attend school elsewhere, but had returned to the school in the past few weeks. 

Witnesses told the family that Torres had walked up to Gonzalez and yelled at her before shooting: "You know who I am, and you know why I am here." The Gonzalezes said their daughter, who was studying Kinesiology, was going to graduate in coming weeks. They went to North Lake to look for her when she didn't respond to text messages Wednesday afternoon. "She was the best daughter any mother could have. The best girl, the best of everything," her mother said. "We're not gonna see her again. She was a harmless girl," said her father Juan Gonzalez. "She was very sweet."

                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHKmSDXdKS0