Filed under: About Us | Tags: Earth Day, environment, green, Jayplay, journalism, Lauren Keith, newspapers, Slate, University Daily Kansan, University of Kansas
I don’t know if this “about me” post can ever kick more ass than my last one (now buried in the archives of yester-semester), but we’ll try.
I took this class last spring, and I was amazed by everything I learned. So I’m back. Finally, a class about the environment where you actually get to discuss the environment? Unheard of.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the Johan Feddema’s and the Shannon O’Lear’s of the EVRN department (those two solidified my environmental studies major), but there’s something unique that is shared through discussion with your classmates and blogs that you don’t get from a big lecture course.
Speaking of Johan, I spent the last semester with him in an atmospheric science class to get a taste of the science instead of the crap you read in newspapers. As a journalism major (too), it tore at my soul a little bit when our final exam was nothing but “Write a page about what’s wrong with these newspaper articles. How could they have done a better job?”
But now I’m happy to say I’ve seen both sides. I’ve written a weekly green living column for Jayplay. I’ve recorded the temperatures from four weather stations (including my own, until it was stolen) for an entire month and have the nasty Excel documents to prove it. I have a newfound appreciation for statistics and temperature data from 600,000 years ago, but most of all those poor souls gathering the data.
I don’t know what I want to do with my life, but thanks for asking. I’d love to be some type of green consultant for businesses, schools, newspapers (cough), or whatever. I’d love to write or edit for Slate and might apply this weekend for a position at its New York office (I love to kid myself).
But if you get to know me any better, I might just show up unexpectedly at your doorstep with a free recycle can. Because every day is Earth Day.
—Lauren
Filed under: About Us
Hello, my name is Matt Bristow and I am from Lansing, Kansas. I am a senior in News and Information, currently working as a photographer for the Kansan. Last semester I was a multimedia reporter for KUJH-TV. I enjoy both video editing and photography. As a reporter, asking questions in search of answers interests me.
I love the outdoors. Some of my hobbies include hiking and camping but I hate picking up other people’s trash on the trails. I enjoy playing guitar and singing with friends and I also love to travel.
In the past year, I began recycling at home and built a small raised garden and compost bin. I continually take steps to lower my impact on the environment. Living off the grid is a goal of mine and as energy technologies improve, I am hopeful that I will achieve this goal.
Both of my housemates have become vegans and they are in the process of converting me. Soy is my friend. If anyone has a dynamite vegan recipe, send it my way.
