UCF Area Blog

SGA Elections Are OVER and the Results Are In!

Shawn Gage — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:35:29 -0400

UPDATED: The final list has since been revised to adjust for the SGA Judicial Council upholding the election committee's decisions.

These will be the Senators taking the reigns of SGA in the coming weeks. The numbers correspond to the seat that the candidates were elected to. 2719 people voted in the runoff.

College of Arts and Humanities:

Marla Spector
Samantha Schroeder
Ryan Dougall
Joshua Miller

College of Business Administration

Michael Wiess
Samantha Friefeld
Jennifer Rionda
Cabot Brown
Sarah Bishop
Jean-Pierre Gilbert
Daniel Wynick
Jason Bryant

College of Education

Samantha Needleman
Katie Celano
David Comolli
Alyson Lipensky

College of Nursing

Megan Dennis
Laura Baker

College of Sciences

Jordan Land
Jamie Kaplan
Darren Kaplan
Heather Kuhla
Jazmine Rodriguez
Ashley Sikand
Tyler Smith
Christina Thomas
Kevin Wolkenfeld

Rosen College of Hospitality

April Leverett
Jereme Pozin

College of Engineering

Williams Fernandez
Christopher Cates
Brittany Ryals
Patrick Stauffer
Andrew Pope

Graduate Studies

Vinit Todi
Brett Ambrosi
Richard Skandera
Christina Willis
Zachary Haber
Rafiqul Chowdhury
Cecilia Rivas

Undergraduate Studies

David Lawson
Jeffrey Popluder

Undeclared Majors

Eric Katz

College of Health and Public Affairs

Nicholas Gurney
Maggie Gilson
Gary Adams
Erica DeSanti

Ask the Readers: What are your primary news sources?

Shawn Gage — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:44:53 -0400

Earlier today, a couple of anonymous comments on a past post regarding Knight News made me wonder:

what are your primary news sources?

As anyone growing up in today's society will realize is that there's hundreds upon hundreds of different news sources to pull from, some of which even transcend mediums. But what do people truly look for in a new source?

I personally use a multitude of sources to keep up with day-to-day affairs and national life. For local information I read both the Central Florida Future and Knight News for different angles and different stories. For example, the Central Florida Future had an article on the Reflection Pond rules while Knight News featured a story on how they were unable to obtain public records (which has attracted a lot of critical commentary).

Beyond the UCF community, I use Google Reader with MSNBC, CNN, FOX News, Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald, and New York Times. I like to maintain MSNBC, CNN and FOX because they share similar stories, but different angles - and usually MSNBC features unique stories since they pull from affiliates around the nation. The Orlando Sentinel and Miami Herald since they are my local papers, my college town and my home town. Then the New York Times to balance everything out with a little bit of world news. I also follow multiple photo blogs and magazines.

Obviously I don't read everything, although I did try for a few days during the summer. It was far too time consuming though. Usually I read the stories pertaining to technology and science.

So, I'm curious what are your primary news sources?

Second Skin - The Online Gamer Documentary

Shawn Gage — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:02:39 -0400

Second Skin has received a limited online premiere. From now until Augst 13 you watch the full documentary on Hulu. It was a "Spotlight Premiere" at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas and has since been on hiatus from the DVD scene.

This month it's seeing a limited release in theatres, alas Orlando is not on the list (let alone Florida). Be sure to catch it while you can, and if you miss your opportunity it'll be on sale August 25.

I watched it, and found it to be a rather interesting commentary on today's society and the impact that technology can have on our lives. It doesn't focus on one angle either, you get to see the positives and the negatives of online gaming.

Source [Hulu]
Source [Second Skin Website]

Subscribe to Sports Illustrated and receive Madden 2010 For "Free"

Shawn Gage — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:15:22 -0400

I guess its really your stance on whether its free or not since you're still paying $50 for a 28 week subscription, but in the long run you're saving $10 on the game. If you're not in a hurry to obtain the game when its released, then this may be a decent alternative for you.

One more thing: make sure you cancel before the end of 28 weeks otherwise they'll bill you for another 28 issues at the " low subscriber rate then in effect."

Source [Kotaku]

Knight News - Independently Owned Student News Source

Shawn Gage — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:22:38 -0400

Check out Knightnews.com - it's a news site run by UCF students that went live a couple weeks ago. I don't know who runs it or anything of the sort, but if you want to do a Whois check you really won't find much just generic information and a placeholder for the contact info and it doesn't have enough traffic to show up on Alexis yet.

The webmaster(s), or the mastermind(s) behind the phrasing, describe the site as:

KnightNews.com is the only independent, student owned and operated news source serving the University of Central Florida area, its students, alumni, staff and neighbors.

We believe it’s critical to have a 24-hour independent news source, with constant online updates that matter to those we serve. And because this is a digital age, we offer content the way that’s expected — through online articles and online video that’s fresh and relevant.

KnightNews.com is where you can come to get informed, but also to get a good laugh. We cover all stories — from the serious to the hilarious. At KnightNews.com you’ll learn what you need to know about everything from local bars to tuition hikes, and even which UCF bathrooms are the best!

They also have a Twitter account that was updated regularly throughout the weekend. A lot of the content is fresh and edgy compared to other UCF news sources, they've definitely jumped onto the Web 2.0 bandwagon early in the lifespan... good luck guys!

Great Pricing on Windows Vista/7

Shawn Gage — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:22:22 -0400

I must seriously be out of the loop considering I just found this offer. Multiple online computer and entertainment retailers are currently selling Windows 7 Personal for $50 and Windows 7 Professional for $100 (gave or take 1 penny plus tax and/or shipping).

So far I know that Best Buy, Circuit City, Newegg, Amazon, and Microsoft's online store all have this offer. I'm sure there are more sites, but those are the only ones I could find.

If you're not interested in Windows 7 and you're still on XP then Windows Vista (RED) is still available for $65 for Students at the Ultimate Steal site (and I've had friends tell me that Comp. Sci. majors can get it for $20).

Regardless, there are a wide range of options available to save money on your new OS, including Ubuntu if you want to give it a spin (note that UCF computer services does not guarantee it to run on their network and are not required to provide support to get it running in dorms or on WiFi).

I don't know what the 7 Release Candidate is doing differently from other OS's, but I'm appreciating the speed boost that I'm noticing in the start-up and shutdown times. If you're interested in trying Windows 7 before purchasing the Release Candidate is still available from Microsoft - keep in mind it is still in testing stages so bugs do exist and there is no dedicated support for the Release Candidate.

UCF Students to host mile-long walk for charity on April 18

Woody Wommack — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:41:27 -0400

Got this message on Facebook today: "Hello my name is Valerie and I am interested in having an event posted, My friend Alex and I are hosting a mile long walk on Saturday, April 18th at 2:00 pm next to the library. This walk will raise funds to help support one of five causes in South Africa; these causes include providing AIDS treatment, cell phone access between doctor and patient, clean water, shoes, and helping to build a school. For every walker who registers with us, takethewalk.net will donate a dollar in that person's name to one of those five causes."

Brian Peterson and Andrick Lewis Elected President and VP

Shawn Gage — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:39:04 -0500

With a majority vote, Brian Peterson and Andrick Lewis are the President and VP elect winning by a majority vote of 54.69%. For those keeping tabs at home, that is approximately 5363 votes.

There was a grand total of 9807 votes cast during the election.

The announcers quickly cleared the stage after announcing the winner and did not announce the exact numbers, but it's probably safe to assume that Andrew Stein and Chase Peckham received approximately 4444 votes at 45.31% assuming the percentage and numbers were correct.

Given the statistics available, approximately 19.4% of the student body voted.

Alleged Spending at UCF

Shawn Gage — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:47:05 -0500

If you think government agencies don't follow their budgets very well... think again. They follow budgets peachy, and UCF appears to have caught a huge problem in their midst.

A UCF professor allegedly spent thousands of dollars on personal electronic equipment during December.

Interested in following?

Check out the Central Florida Future and WFTV stories for more information. This will probably be a big topic in the coming weeks as the university figures out what exactly transpired and how it's to be handled.

KORT Club Showcase

Shawn Gage — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:20:52 -0500

KoRT will hold its annual club showcase this Thursday from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the Student Union Pegasus Ballroom. There will be at least 100 student organizations represented. Come out and support your favorite clubs, or learn about some others.

There are a wide range of opportunities to get involved, and many student organizations have elections during the Spring semester, which is a great opportunity to gain leadership experience.

Clubs at UCF range from special interest, Chocolate Club and Anime Spot, to academic, SEDS and QUOTES.

Want a complete list? Check out the KORT website!

KORT Club Showcase

Student Union, Pegasus Ballroom

Thursday, January 22, 2008

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Marketplace Now Open On Weekends

Shawn Gage — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:57:44 -0500

If you are living in Nike, Hercules, Apollo, and Libra last semester, you probably had limited food options during the weekends last semester. Well, here's some great news for you guys!

The Marketplace is now open for limited hours on weekends:

Saturday: 10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Then,
4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

For a full listing of times and locations for restaurants on-campus, check out Campus Dish!

Free Stuff Alert! Cram 4 the Exam Saturday night at the UCF Library

Woody Wommack — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:44:09 -0500

Another finals week event, another chance to get some free stuff. This Saturday night at the UCF Library will be the annual "Cram 4 the Exam" event, which will feature free food, music, etc. Everything will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and is expected to go until about 1 a.m.

Here are some details via the UCF Web site:

"Free Food Free Study Supplies and more. Come to the UCF Library on Dec. 6th to study for finals in a successful and productive environment. Student ID Required. Each floor at the library will be transformed into different styles of study spaces for you. For more information, visit our Facebook event page or our website!"

Here's a link to the Facebook group and the event description:

"Free Food
Free Study Supplies
and more.

Come to the UCF Library on
Dec. 6th for the official kickoff to exam week and start to study for finals in a successful and productive environment.

The library will be converted into 3 levels featuring food, music, and quiet study. Tables will be open for reservations so you can get a study group together for the big week ahead!
Student ID Required."

What do you think? Will you head out to this event?