social media reform

Sam Houston State University drafted a social media policy requiring any university related organizations with social media accounts share their login information with university administration. This would give administration the right to monitor, censor, and edit the pages internally.
Naturally, students were not happy about the instated policy and proceeded to communicate that in the way they saw best fit - staging a protest in the form of a "free speech wall" in the university's hub. This wall served as a resource for students to write whatever they would like to vent about - mainly the university's stifling policies, as well as various other issues such as the president.
The protest came to an end when a professor complained about offensive statements on the wall. This act of rebellion did little but fluster faculty and the policy still stands. The administration agreed to consider a revision, but no follow-up has been provided.

Social media reform policies are necessary in today's world. However, not all institution require them, and a university is a great example of an area where such policies are not necessary. College is a time for experimentation, trial and error within a safe environment, and most notable expression. In my opinion, the school officials had to know that this sort of rebellion would surely ensue.

Other companies can learn from this model that new policies are often not welcomed, especially when it infringes on our social culture. So, changes should be well thought out and initiated with care. Otherwise, unhappy employees might act out in a similar fashion to the students at Sam Houston State University.

PB2 Review

If you haven't tried PB2, you're missing out. 

When PB2 comes up in conversation, a common reaction is: "Oh, I have been wanting to try that. How is it?"

Today I am going to thoroughly answer that question for you.

First of all, what is PB2?

It is powdered peanut butter brought to us by the folks at Bell Plantation. They specialize in peanuts and they really think outside of the shell. 

 Why would you eat powdered peanut butter?

Coming from a proud powdered peanut butter consumer I will give you my biggest reason: calories.

I realize the above rationale may be enough to convince you to give PB2 a try, but I am just getting started.

- It tastes good

- There is a chocolate flavor (still with only 45 calories)

- There are 85% less calories from fat in PB2 than the leading brand of peanut butter

- You can pronounce all of the ingredients

- You can count all of the ingredients on less than one hand

- Over 90% of fat is removed from the peanut in the pressing processed

- Don't just take my word for it, take the words of these people too

 How do you make it?

I have recorded the process in an instructional video below.

You can purchase PB2 here.

The Fast

My media fast happened by accident. I wasn't planning to spend Friday without a phone. Who in their right mind would choose to abandon their connection with the outside world on that particular day of the week? Well, my Droid Incredible 2 chose that sacred day when my battery decided to take its final breaths late Thursday night. (pause for a moment of silence)

Being the optimist that I sometimes am, I turned this loss into a gain and completed the dreaded 24 hours. On weekends I travel to state college, the sometime monotonous 1 hour and 15 minute drive is typically drenched with technology. I catch up with my friends in Nashville and listen to new music I have found during the week. Due to the circumstances none of the above took place, and I can honestly say that I didn't mind. I probably was a better driver and I listened to top 40 country radio and spent the ride asking God "Why didn't I write that song?"

Once I reached State College I drove to the horse ranch where my boyfriend parks the Airstream and luckily he was there. Otherwise, I would have no way to contact him. I did not mind the absence of my phone or computer while with him, good company is the best distraction.

Time was my biggest problem, I have a confession to make...I am not good with analog clocks. The hour and the minute hand sometimes look the same from some angles and I just get confused. It is both embarrassing and annoying. So, when the morning came I was paranoid that I would be late for work and ended up leaving 45 min. earlier than I had to. Earliness was an unexpected and pleasant result. The technology fast was pretty painless, I did catch myself reaching into my bag for my phone a couple of times, but my time apart did not inspire any life changing realizations.

Overall, I'm very aware of my technology usage. I enjoy things like the endless scrolling feature on Pinterest and if a moment is worth repeating (or retweeting) I gladly play my role in the online society and share it with my friends and followers. For me, technology is a time filler when I'm standing in lines and a time passer when I'm hopelessly bored, and a time saver for most other situatios. However, seven times out of ten I would rather have a face to face conversation than use technology. When that ratio drops below five I will acknowledge that I have a problem, but until then I will keep scrolling.

*disclaimer this is not my current phone but both situations produced comparable reactions

Intro Post

My name is Cassandra, but to most I am some variation of Casey.

 

I recently graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, officially pronounced 'Tin-a-see.'  At Belmont I studied songwriting and journalism. My four year degree ended up taking three years, which was strange, so I decided not to abandon academia just yet, and that is why I am now at Penn College. 

Outside of school I enjoy to cook, bake, do yoga, play guitar, and travel. I have a food blog titled Eat write, repeat where I mainly post recipes and tell stories.

This summer my boyfriend and I refurbished a 1962 Airstream Travel Trailer, which we've since nicknamed the land yacht. This feat easily tops the list of most unusual things I've done in my life. However, it was a great experience and the finished product was awesome.  Here are some before and after pictures of the inside of land yacht.

Enjoy!