FOUR

To be honest, the final project for ARS 327: Theory and Practice of Digital Arts: Web Art, Design and Culture, was to make your own piece of web art.

According to Wikipedia, Web art, or Internet art, is a form of digital artwork distributed via the Internet. This form of art has circumvented the traditional dominance of the gallery and museum system, delivering aesthetic experiences via the Internet. In many cases, the viewer is drawn into some kind of interaction with the work of art.

The piece that I have created is called FOUR, and can be found at this link: http://mysbfiles.stonybrook.edu/~jlattanza/four.html. I am not going to provide any explanation for it. The only thing I will say, is that the solid black page is not the end.

So give it a look! If you are confused, I have succeeded. If you have any questions, message me.

 

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Do What You Can

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

-Arthur Ashe

To be honest, when I saw this quote in Demi Lovato’s, “Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year,” it put a lot of things into perspective for me.

Throughout my whole life, I have considered myself to be a perfectionist. I have strived for perfection because settling for less was just never an option.

I have worked so hard in school, staying up, or not going to sleep at all, until I finished all of my work. I have stressed myself out and almost have cracked under high amounts of pressure to make deadline. I have joined many clubs and organizations to meet new people, serve the community, and grow as a person and a leader. I have worked so hard to maintain a good reputation and I have done my best to act professional in every situation. I have tried my best to be a great daughter, sister and friend, and I have also tried to have as much fun as I can.

And of this still applies to my life today. My academic success is my number one priority and I always have my future career on my mind. I am constantly looking for new opportunities to put me ahead.

But now knowing this quote, I have come to realize that I can only use what I have and do what I can. There have been so many times where I have become so overwhelmed by the amount of work I had to do and feared that I would ruin my chances to be successful. And although I probably won’t change any of my ways, because that’s just who I am, it is reassuring to know that I am only able to do what I can, and that is going to be and has to be good enough.

 

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Helmets for Women’s Lacrosse?

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of women’s lacrosse because it’s not physical enough, but I decided to write an enterprise story on what could happen to players and the sport, if helmets were a requirement.

Unlike most sports that are played by both males and females, the rules of women’s lacrosse are very different from men’s. One very noticeable difference is the men are required to wear helmets, shoulder pads and gloves, while women are not. This is mostly due to the fact that men’s lacrosse is a much more violent game than women’s lacrosse is.

In men’s lacrosse, players are allowed to check each other’s bodies and sticks. Where as in women’s lacrosse, body checking is strictly forbidden. Players are not even allowed to invade the 7-inch halo around an opponent’s head. And shooting with a defender in line with the goal is also illegal. But although the rules of each game are very different, there are still concerns of injuries, especially concussions, for women’s lacrosse players.

Molly College Women’s Lacrosse [Photo Credit: Molloy College Campus Life on Facebook]

According to United States Lacrosse, women’s lacrosse has been played in the United States without helmets since 1913 and until 9 years ago, without any protective equipment. In 2005, a rule was created that stated all women’s lacrosse players must wear protective eyewear, such as goggles while playing. Another rule set in the same year states that all goalie helmets must meet the National Operating on Standards for Athletic Equipment, standard. The two goalies are the only two players on the field who are required and permitted to wear a hard helmet. The requirement of wearing a mouthpiece that fully covers the upper jaw and teeth of all players was set in 2007. However, according to U.S. Lacrosse, it acknowledges that helmets do not prevent concussions, but states in its rulebook, “women are permitted to wear soft helmets – which may help lessen the severity of head trauma and facial lacerations.”

“Everybody looks at equipment intervention as the end-all, be-all – but it’s not,” Steve Stenersen, the president of U.S. Lacrosse said in a New York Times article, “A Case Against Helmets in Lacrosse.” “U.S. Lacrosse would rather emphasize education and rules of enforcement and keep the game unchanged.”

While women’s lacrosse does not allow rough play, concussions, mostly on accidental stick-to-head contact, collisions and falls, are common. According to “A Case Against Helmets in Lacrosse,” research by Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus Ohio states that not only does the sport have the third-highest rate of concussions among female sports, but its in-game rate is only about 15 percent less than the rougher male game.

Dougherty (#19) and teammates. [Photo Credit: Ari Cav on Facebook]

Kelsey Dougherty, a defenseman for Molloy College said that she has suffered two concussions while playing. One was after being hit with the ball off a shot and the other was after being hit with a stick. “It is common,” Dougherty said. “Many of my teammates have had them as well, and I have seen girls wear homemade helmets to protect themselves.”

But although more protection, such as a helmet, sounds like a positive adjustment, Kevin Kilkenny, an athletic trainer from Generations Physical Therapy, is against it. “I don’t want helmets in girls’ lacrosse,” Kilkenny said. “I know that for a fact that we will have more concussions with helmets on than we will without.” Kilkenny worries that the sport will also see more neck injuries because of the stress and weight of the helmet. “When someone breaks their neck, they break it when their head is flexed,” he said. “With a helmet on and the head down, we’ll have more neck injuries.”

However, Dougherty predicts that helmets would “make the game a much safer competition.” According to U.S. Lacrosse, “women’s lacrosse has relatively low overall injury rates compared to other collegiate and high school sports. Rules based on the guiding principles of the sport maintain a sense of safety and fair play in the game.”

Requiring women lacrosse players to wear helmets would dramatically change the game. Aside from expecting more or less injuries, many expect the aggressive nature of the game to increase. “Some players will be less careful when playing and will pay less attention to violent plays that can actually injure players,” Dougherty said. “Once they put a helmet on, they’re going to start playing like the guys,” Kilkenny said. “They might as well fully suit up and play men’s lacrosse with men on the same field,” Frank Terlizzo, a former player and coach at Mercy College added.

Terlizzo (#38) playing for Mercy College. [Photo Credit: Albert Ceez on Facebook]

Terlizzo (#38) playing for Mercy College. [Photo Credit: Albert Ceez on Facebook]

“It’s hard to absolutely prove, but what we’ve seen is that behavior can change when athletes feel more protected, especially when it comes to the head and helmets,” Dr. Margot Putukian, chairwoman of the U.S. Lacrosse Sports Science and Safety Committee, said in “A Case Against Helmets in Lacrosse.” “They tend to put their bodies and heads in danger that they wouldn’t without the protections. And they aren’t as protected as they might think.”

 

Speaking from experience, Terlizzo attests, “as a player, knowing that you are protected makes you play a little angrier and be a little wild with your stick.”

If changes such as a helmet requirement and the freedom to be more aggressive were applied to women’s lacrosse, their game would start to look like the men’s. “Eventually, it would become women playing something similar, if not identical to men’s lacrosse,” Terlizzo said.

But it still might not make it as popular. “I still do not think girls’ lacrosse will attract as many fans as men’s lacrosse because just in general men’s sports are more popular,” Dougherty said. “But I think more fans than the present amount will be attracted if the rules change.”

Terlizzo agrees, “I think it would interest people for a while if rules are changed, but to be honest, I think it would kill the sport. It’s perfect the way it is now; no need for a change.”

 

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#RothRegattaLive

To be honest, live TV is no joke.

Co-Anchors of Roth Regatta Live – Brendan Jones & Jaclyn Lattanza

Last Friday, the School of Journalism put on its first ever live broadcast of a sporting event. No, it wasn’t a lacrosse game. Not baseball, and it wasn’t softball. It was Roth Regatta.

Leading up to the date, Friday, May 2nd at 2:30 p.m., everyone who was involved, students, staff, faculty, etc. was preparing for a great broadcast. It was going to be one hour long; we were going to have two anchors who would interview guests at the desk; three play-by-play commentators who were going to call at least eight races; and two field reporters who were going to use Padcasters to interview participants. Pre-recorded packages were ready to go and a lot of research on each boat was done.

As one of the anchors, I showed up at the desk at 10:30 a.m. The nerves were starting to settle in because I had a four-page script to memorize and no teleprompter to refer to (disclaimer: I requested not to have a prompter, because I am more natural in front of the camera without it). I started to feel more comfortable though, after practicing the script with my co-anchor, Brendan Jones, and my broadcast professor, Professor Sanders. There were so many people walking by the anchor desk and taking pictures of us before we started. I’m not going to lie, it felt pretty cool. Especially with our awesome headsets that we had.

As we watched the Regatta, everyone began to realize that the whole event was going to be over by the time the broadcast started. That meant no play-by-play; no action behind the anchors; and no Padcaster interviews with participants. But regardless, the show must go on.

As it got closer to air-time, Brendan and I were so ready to start! But unfortunately, some of the technology wasn’t.

Technological difficulties are always expected when using technology, especially when there is a lot of it. As one of the on-air talents, the technological aspects of the show, were out of my hands. But I know that everyone who was working behind the scenes did the best that they could to make everything run as smoothly as possible.

Technology aside though, since there was only one race left of the Regatta by the time we went on air, our whole script was changed, and basically useless. It was a bit chaotic right before we went live and even during, due to weak communication between the anchors, play-by-play commentators and reporters. Brendan and I called the first race and basically ad-libbed the whole show. When we weren’t talking on air or interviewing a guest, we were quickly deciding what was going to come next and who was going to do what. It was crazy.

But regardless of what was happening behind the scenes, everyone who was on-air pulled it together. As anchors, Brendan and I were on for most of the show, but the play-by-play commentators, Joe Damiani, Basil John and Brenda Blanco, and the two Padcaster reporters, Dahlia Ibrahim and Bushra Mollick, did a great job as well!

After the 47-minute show was all said and done, Brendan and I sat at the anchor desk to soak in what we just did. Although the structure of the show went from being strong to very chaotic in a matter of minutes, whatever we did worked. If we were confused or upset about something, as soon as we were back on air, we forgot about it, gathered our thoughts, and just went back to being an anchor.

[Instagram] May 2 – @jlattanza: UMH WHAT. Even with technical difficulties Roth Regatta Live anchors pulled through! sbujdrive.com

The show didn’t go as smoothly as everyone was hoping, but what we produced looked pretty good, especially since it was our first shot at covering Roth Regatta. The mistakes and challenges that we went through will definitely help us broadcast an even better show next year, and it definitely has me even more excited for Wolfstock Live in September!

The show would definitely not have been possible without the work, support and positive attitude of Phil Altiere, the Technical Manager for the School of Journalism. And for that, I thank him for one of the best experiences I have had as a member of the School of Journalism at Stony Brook. Everything being on the fly taught me how to remain calm, be poised, and think on the spot.  It also lifted my confidence as a broadcast journalist.

 

View Roth Regatta Live here!

 

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