Ben's JRN200 Blog

The 2016 season for the Michigan State Spartans football team could not have gone any worse than anticipated following the 2015 season which featured a B1G championship and College Football Playoff appearance. The off season following the 3-9 2016 season was clouded by suspensions of four players for alleged criminal conduct which resulted them being kicked off the team during the summer (three in one case, one in the other). All four were highly touted recruits from the 2016 class. There were also other departures from players as result of locker room disputes. It's safe to say the expectations were not high for the Spartans going into the 2017 season, especially for a team that was one of the youngest in the country. One of the problems for the 2016 team was on defense and a lack of any kind of pass rush. Despite the departures of both Joshua King and Auston Robertson - two top prospects from the 2016 class dismissed - the defensive line, led by former walk-on defensive end Ken

Therapy dogs on college campuses has become a growing trend, and part of this is due to growing amount of research detailing the health benefits. Although it may be fun to just play with dogs, having a therapy dog has been linked to health benefits like lowered blood pressure . Kerri Rodriguez , a PhD student of human-animal interaction, studies the psychological effects of service dogs on individuals at  Purdue University and says there’s a good amount of evidence pointing to the positives of dog therapy. “We’ve been studying the effects of dogs on stress for decades,” Rodriguez said. “There is a growing body of evidence that supports the health benefits interacting with companion animals.” Companion animals are any kind of pet. One study done at the University of Maine in spring 2015 showed a link between those being in a better mood and having a therapy dog, whereas the same positive data didn't materialize for the control group that was studied without a dog. A differ

One trend that's become popular on college campuses is the use of therapy dogs for students during stressful times, such as finals week. The practice has been going on for a few years at Michigan State University and has quickly turned into a fan favorite. Both students and staff enjoy the therapy dog sessions. Holly Flynn , coordinator of outreach and engagement at the MSU library and the person who organizes the events, said students love the therapy dog events. “The feedback has always been great," Flynn said. "[The students] love the dogs, they go in and pet all of them.” She also said the events are probably her favorite thing that she does. Patrick Thornton , a junior at MSU and computer science major, is also a fan of having the dogs brought to the library. “I thought it was just a really good break from studying,” Thornton said. “It’s nice to see dogs, always getting to pet dogs is pretty hype.” Thornton said the dogs were a good outlet away from the s

Although the new branding strategy by the NFL has good qualities, per some fans and graphic designers, there seems to be those dissatisfied with the logos. One argument is that the new scheme creates a blandness to how the game is portrayed; that there's no more uniqueness to each event. Graphic artist Todd Radom , who designed the logo for Super Bowl XXXVIII , is not a fan of the trend. “We’ve lost something,” Radom said. “We have no sense of time or place, number one, all these [logos] tend to look the same one year to the next. I think they’re shiny, and very, as I call them, very soulless. They sort of reflect people’s perceptions of what the NFL is these days; [the logos] look very corporate, there’s not a lot of fun involved.” Part of Radom's point is valid, how the logos before the new scheme featured a different theme each year according to the location they took place. An example seen is with the logo for Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena, California which featured a ro

The NFL's new branding scheme with the Super Bowl has been met with mixed reviews, but generally has the support of fans and graphic designers. The new logos feature a more systematic approach from one year to the next, where there's a base theme with slight changes given the location and Roman numeral of the game. Maral Zakharia , a graphic design professor and art director, believes the NFL made the right call. "People will remember the logo and they will remember the brand," said Zakharia. "To build a brand you need to keep it in the memory of people." Zakharia said how the new logos will put the NFL's brand among other top ones around the world and exude self-confidence. Jacob Zerka , a freshman at Michigan State University, likes the new look the designs bring to the table. "I believe that the new Super Bowl logos are a much improved design from the older logos," said Zerka. "I like the sleek look of [the logos], I like the sil

Team Peter Vanderoff and Ariana Negreiro beat team John Kochanek and Jack Maibach 10-9 in the prime time game of euchre that was neck-and-neck at the end. Vanderhoff and Negreiro started the game down 1-0, but then went on to score seven consecutive points to take a six-point lead at 7-1. From there, Kochanek and Maibach clawed back to erase the deficit and got ahead 8-7. After that the game went back-and-fourth. The two teams exchanged points and found themselves tied 9-9. The emotions of both teams began to show in the stressful situation. Negreiro dealt the final hand and ordered herself up to claim the 10-9 victory. The total attendance for the euchre match included three Rather Hall residents