FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Roots Perform at The University of Maine

The student government at the University of Maine has announced that the hip-hop group The Roots will play in concert at the University field house on March 20^th.

Originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots are famous for performing a jazzy, eclectic type of hip-hop, which includes live instruments. Their first album was released in 1993 and they have shared music with a many artists from different genres. The Roots are a very bright and entertaining group that have influenced many rap and R&B acts. Today the roots are currently most famous for being the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

The group’s original lineup consisted of Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter (MC) and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson on the drums. The two met at the Philadelphia High School for Performing Arts. After working together for a few years they added bassist Josh “the Rubber band” Abrams and Scott Storch on the keyboard. The group is very supportive of their Philadelphia roots and show lots of support for local causes and sporting events.

According to Student Government the roots were at the top of the request list for students this year. Openings for the band were hard to come by. March 20^th seemed to be the only opening the band had for months.

Many students are excited for the upcoming concert. The roots previously performed at the University in April of 2001.

Tickets have been on sale since Thursday January 21^st and are still available at umainetix.com. For students tickets are running for $15 and $20 for the general public.

For any questions contact the Student government on Firstclass.

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Profile of Erin Gross

Erin Gross is a current second year student at the University of Maine. Majoring in studio art, Erin is a very artistic and enthusiastic individual. A native of Maine, Erin enjoys the University of Maine campus and the friends she has made. “I love the outdoors and the opportunities this campus has for outdoor activities.” Erin adds when explaining her cross-country ski journeys she takes with her roommates at least once a week.

One thing Erin struggles with is the cold, she claims “Being way up north not by the ocean is hard for me!” As many students complain about the cold, the wind is also another factor that Erin does not like about the University.

When asking Erin one of the most memorable moments she has had on campus this year, she responded with a heart-warming story. During a warm fall walk through the woods with one of friends, they came across a struggling bird that had been hurt bad and couldn’t move. In a panic Erin and her friend called the local animal rescue and ended up saving the birds life.

Interviewing Erin I learned a lot about her and her life at the University of Maine. She talked a lot about her art classes and her recent works. Last semester she finished her painting class series. In that class she created many self portraits and portraits of others. She said painting is her favorite medium and is a great break from her book studies. “I have a very sophisticated style. I wear a lot of black.” Erin explains that her attraction to black comes out in her everyday outfit choices and also in her artwork. She finds her self-drawn to works done in black and white, such as interesting photography and sketch drawings. She plans to continue on in the art series at the University of Maine and eventually end up working in design.

In this newscast them male reporter is explaining the disease that has taken charge over Haiti after the damaging earthquake. The video shows sites in Haiti where millions of people in need of care are camped out. The reporter starts out the newscast by explaining the unsanitary conditions these people are forced to live in while they slowly receive relief from the natural disaster. The newscaster does not start out by mentioning the exact country of the location in assumption everyone is already educated on the events that have taken place. If I were writing this story I would have started out saying exactly where the story is taking place.

The reporter uses verbs in the past tense when explaining how these people lived before the earthquake and adds in the phrase “are now” when explaining their current situations. This is a good technique when building a story because he can contrast and explain the people’s living situations.

Three interviews take place in this newscast. One was a translated interview from a woman who’s suffered injuries and whose family is in need of care as well. The purpose was to give an example of what consequences people are experiencing. He then adds a second interview of Rashid Kysia, a volunteer doctor, and then goes straight into an interview with Ann Veneman the UNICEFF executive director. If I were the writer of this article I would space the interviews out more and add more to the content of the story and leave the interviews throughout the beginning, middle, and end to help explain the situation. I would have also maybe added more individual examples of the people who are suffering, to really get the point across that this disease spreading could be very harmful. However I do think the flow of the story is positive and catches people’s attention with the set of the newscast.