Lyrics

Closing the book on another chapter,
Thinking of everything I've been through and everything I learned.
Somethings lost and somethings found,
And every part of the puzzle re-arranged around.
But every time a paged was turned
Every time a goal was earned,
The book was the same,
The pages intact,
No turning back.
Open the door
Fly....no....
soar!!!!!!!

Brian Ross

How many people can say they have been slapped by the pope, put at gun point, and been on a hijacked plan? 

For Brian Ross, father of YDN’s Colin Ross, this is just another day in the office—getting his hands on the best and most respected investigative reporting material.  Today at SJP Ross talked about his career path and where broadcast journalism has led him. 

Originally, Ross started off at his high school sports desk, later studying at Northwestern and the University of Iowa.  He said that his choice for broadcast journalism was twofold—he liked being in front of the camera and broadcasting seem like a more creative part of journalism news.

After college Ross had several jobs at local networks in Iowa, Miami, and Cleveland, but it was his individuality and motivation that brought him up the ladder of success.  He didn’t always do what he was told and at his first job was fired for investigating and running a story his boss said was not news worthy.  This unemployment did not stop Ross he kept moving, and later went on to working on stories about Watergate and Mobsters in Ohio.  His story of these Mobsters eventually made it to national news.  It just goes to show you as Ross said, there is a story with potential everywhere, treat each story as essential as possible and you might surprise yourself. 

As far as the actually writing goes, Ross off- camera, writes all of his own material just like Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos.  Ross also said that writing for television is difficult because all material must be condensed into two minutes, while in a newspaper it might be eight paragraphs long.  Broadcasting also requires visuals, time, and a means of displaying the information as clearly and concisely as possible.

Ross said he loves his job because it feels good getting justice for others and letting others to confide in him for help.

Deliciou Hampburger Salad

        Instead of purchasing lunch from one of the cultural restaurants in the Yale-New Haven Area, I brought my own pre-made special lunch to SJP.  Last night for dinner, my family came over and as usual in the summer we had hamburgers on the grill.  As I was cleaning up the kitchen I noticed there were two hamburgers left so I decided to create a new way to eat leftover hamburgers.  My recipe is:

            First, chop a third of a white onion and cut your leftover already-grilled burgers into cubes.  Then place the chopped onion and hamburger in a pan with a little smudge of butter.  As that is cooking add ketchup and a drizzle of Worcestershire sauce  to a point where it looks like a sloppy-joe and add any other type spices like coriander, paprika, and cumin.  For those who like a slight kick to their food they can add chilly powder or jalapeno pepper.  After everything is mixed in the pan take your favorite type of lettuce leaf and place the meat over the lettuce, and later if you wish to add any tomatoes or pepper you can make it into a delectable and new way to eat salad with meat. 

Yale Summer Journalism Program

Tax Free Week Deals Arrive in New Haven

By: Dominique Bonessi and Jennie Mu

Clutching identical shopping bags from Urban Outfitters containing their recently made purchases while browsing the neighboring Laila Rowe’s summer sales, high schoolers Charlli Brooks and Kelly Smyth were pleased to discover that this week was indeed tax-free week.

“I didn’t notice it was tax-free week. I was just doing some shopping for fun and back-to-school clothes,” Brooks said as she shrugged.

For six days in August, from the 15th to the 21^st, New Haveners are spared the usual six-percent sales tax on their purchases of clothing and footwear. The 10th annual Tax Free Week comes as a refresher to New Haven retailers and small businesses, as the back-to-school period is the second largest shopping season, next to the holidays. This joyous time also comes with one exception: anything over $300 has sales tax added on.

“Consumer spending with out sales tax can jump start a recessive economy,” said Vice President of New Haven Chamber of Commerce Susan Godshall. 

Despite the back-to-school shopping frenzy, August is traditionally a slower shopping period for some businesses according to Keisha Blake, the co-owner of Seychelles—a clothing boutique on Chapel Street. Several stores have strategically paired the tax holiday with various in-store discounts. Yurway sales associate Amanda Montanez described how the store’s discounts of 30% to 50% off all items plus the exempt sales tax attracted more customers to make a purchase.

“It definitely helps motivate customers to buy more clothing items from the store,” Montanez said.

“Genius,” said Curt Sutherland, a bookseller at the Yale Bookstore, while evaluating the annual event’s timeliness. During the weeks of August, older students and parents of school-age children are traditionally more receptive to shopping deals.

Various advertisements have been listed in local newspapers for consumers to take advantage of shopping this week. Blake, the Seychelles co-owner, described how she advertised for her store through Facebook by putting up an ad to remind consumers of the lack of sales tax and the store’s additional 15% discount for students.

Despite the good late summer timing, few businesses are actually affected by the benefits of tax-free week, according to some store managers. With most stores already offering discounts, Ann Johnson, the store manager of Laila Rowe, said the impact of tax-free week on recent sales has been insignificant—almost inexistent.

“The shoes are all discounted, and they just don’t ring up to over $50,” she said.

Even if the shops themselves are giving the tax free week mixed reviews, the shoppers say keep it coming. But Godshall said that it would be difficult to maintain a year round tax break. If urban and suburban legislatures were to agree on a zero sales tax policy, there would have to be a huge spike in income tax to keep a balance, she described.

Until then, some Connecticut residents may suffer from envy of certain nearby states.

“I wish we had tax free week all the time,” said Smyth, “like in Delaware.”

What I am Learning.....

I’m learning to journey,

Through time and life.

To cherish every moment,

Through joy and strife.

I’m learning about friendship,

No matter the distance.

To keep them close,

No matter the distance.

I’m learning to love,

How it works unconditionally.

To be passionately in love,

How it should feel.

I’m learning about passion,

Search for what I love.

To share with the world,

Search for more.

I’m learning language,

Conversing in a different tongue.

To understand the world,

Conversing to learn.

Journeying to learn.

Friendships grow though learning.

Loving to learn.

Showing passion through learning.

Conversing to learn.

When I reach the end of my journey

I hope to be,

That God will then

Watch over me.

And sleep I will in

Peace someday.

To live and love with peace this day

That everyday shall follow with one more,

Until there is nothing more.

Ana Taliba

Ana taliba

 “Ana taliba,” rippled from the mouths of the students.  The words seemed odd, and then I began to ask for their meaning.  “I am a student,” was the answer, but how many times in media and other forms of communication do we hear that word – “taliba” -used? 

I have grown up in a traditional-values western family. My mother is native Cuban, while my father is a mix of Italian, English, and Irish descent.  After spending the summer between my sophomore and junior year in Egypt, learning about Middle Eastern culture, tradition, and language, I see it as my duty to educate people about the meaning of this word.  Coming back to the states after my trip, I noticed what I didn’t see before.  This was, that several American people once they here the word “taliba” in Arabic, they automatically assume terrorism.  As a 17 year old girl, I do understand that anything having to do with terrorism is to be dealt with through National Security, but others distort the difference between those who are in the Taliban and those who are simply people or students (taliba) from the Middle East.

On countless late night shows and YouTube political skit, people take the Middle Eastern culture and twist what it truly is.  Part of my experience in Egypt was learning about the people, their hospitality, and their faith.  Most Middle Easterners are Islamic, meaning they believe in a monotheistic religion -- the same as Christianity or Judaism.  So why do they seem so “foreign”?  The reason is our unawareness of Middle Eastern culture.  This unknowing makes us susceptible to making the worst assumptions.  From my experience I concluded Middle Easterners are honorable; even when greeting each other they say “Peace be upon you”.  Also as in any family, the mother or the grandmother will continue to offer food no matter how full and bloated you feel, just as my mother and Irish and Cuban grandmothers do.  They treat you like part of a family even if you are from halfway around the world.  From my experience, I now know that the Middle East is not all about bombs, terrorists, and the Taliban, but it has a hidden characteristic of kindness.  More people should learn about this kindness and try to understand what they don’t know.

Americans should attempt to consciously use the word “taliba” with the utmost respect for its meaning and try not to put everyone in the Middle East into the same category.  An example of this is a women wearing the hijab [head scarf], it is seen as different and unusual, and the majority of the time people will ignorantly assume she is a bad person.  At times it is sad to live in a country where middle easterners are continuously looked down upon in shame.   Instead, try to imagine the war and problems in the Middle East being a situation in the western hemisphere, and how you would feel if people halfway around the globe were mocking you?   We can start showing greater respect for other people’s of the world, even if they are not familiar to us, by taking more care with our use of a simple word, “taliba”.