Life in the military, as told by MAJ Coleman

When civilians normally think of leaders in the military, some may picture iron-willed and highly temperamental men – the kind that get into the faces of underlings and bark orders from behind cigar-clenching teeth. Types like General George S. Patton, if you will.

Then, there’s Major (MAJ) Richard Coleman – a mild-mannered and personable leader in the U.S. Army, an assistant professor of military science and the enrollment officer for SRU’s Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC).

Having served in the military for about 20 years, Coleman said he joined the Army Reserve upon going to college so he could be in the military without having to leave school. He said his particular field of specialty in the military, or Military Occupation Specialty (MOS), is field artillery, and has been since he began his career.

Originally from Ohio, Coleman started his military career by going to Fort Sill, Okla. for basic training and Advanced Individual Training (AIT). After training, he said went back to his home state for drilling in Cincinatti for about one year before being stationed on active duty at Fort Riley, Kan. for about five years.

Coleman said he was also stationed in Korea after his time in Kansas, but didn’t get to see actual combat until he was deployed to Iraq in 2003.

According to Coleman, being on base in Korea is a lot like being on base anywhere in the US, with the exception of having to learn the ways of Korean culture. The initial arrival into Iraq, on the other hand, was an adjustment for him and other soldiers.

“Iraq in ’03 was a little different,” he said. “That was the initial war time frame going through there. We didn’t have many interpreters, [and] we didn’t really understand the culture as much as we would’ve liked.”

While Coleman said trying to understand the culture was difficult the first time around, he said it got much easier to understand and talk to the civilians when he went back to Iraq from 2008 to 2009, as part of a team training Iraqi soldiers. After completing his second round of duty in Iraq, Coleman came to SRU to become an assistant professor of military science, and the enrollment officer for the ROTC program.

When he came to Slippery Rock, Coleman said he had never heard of the town or university before in his life, but added that he quickly came to enjoy it.

“Initially, I didn’t know what to expect because I had never heard about [Slippery Rock] before or even knew where it was,” he said. “When I got here, I found it to be a nice small town with a nice university. I’ve been able to take and teach some classes and enjoy myself. But the important thing is, the community support for the military has been great. I haven’t been in a place more supportive.”

Currently, Coleman said he’s waiting for orders to go back to Iraq in June as an adviser for Iraq’s military. Once his duties in Iraq are fulfilled, he said he plans to retire from the military.

Transitioning from a life of combat to civilian life can be tough for soldiers who have seen combat, especially for those who come back with injuries or deal with mental trauma such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Coleman said transitioning into civilian life from life in combat back in 2009 was easy for him, but added that it could be quite difficult for other soldiers.

“It’s almost like opposite ends of a spectrum for an army guy,” he said.

The videos displayed below are various clips of a field exercise conducted for SRU's American Military Experience class on Thursday, April 12. The exercise was held at the Slippery Rock Sportsman Club, and was conducted by local students and officers from the Army Reserve.

SGA officials announce election results

Students listen for the results as SGA Parliamentarian Zacharia Dornisch (left) announces the winners of the election.

 Slippery Rock University's Student Government Association (SGA) Parliamentarian Zacharia Dornisch announced the results for the 2012-2013 SGA election at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the quad.

Of the three parties running in the election, being T.O.G.A. Party, Party Rock and Mario Party, the most victorious turned out to be the T.O.G.A. Party, who clinched various senator seats, as well as four of five Executive Board positions - President, David Wolfe; Vice President of Internal Affairs, Kelly Moore; Vice President of Student Affairs, James Henry; and Vice President of Financial Affairs, Benjamin Motyl. The fifth Executive Board position, being the Vice President of Campus Outreach, went to Mario Party candidate Christian McChesney.

Voter turnout for this year's election had improved by almost 50 percent from last year's election, which had a turnout of only eight percent of the student population. The poor turnout of last year's election was attributed to the fact that only one party, The People's Party, ran and did not face opposition.

SRU students gather in a crowd around the gazebo in the quad to listen to the SGA election results Tuesday afternoon.

While there were three parties in total for this year's election, T.O.G.A. Party and Party Rock were the main front-runners of the election, winning favor from students with different platforms and various promises.

T.O.G.A. Party had campaigned on the promise to bring the authority of SGA back to the students and away from faculty, but the party made other promises, such as restructuring SGA's budgeting system, readjusting the Happy Bus schedule, improving lighting on and near campus and reduced costs around campus.

Led by SGA presidential candidate Alex Hiller, Party Rock proved to be T.O.G.A. Party's biggest challenger. Party Rock had campaigned with several different promises, but it was mainly due to their controversial platform that they got attention - to make SRU a wet campus.

Though the pledge had gained attention from students, Party Rock's platform only raised more questions and skeptical attitudes instead of creating support from the student community.

The return of Slippery Rock Lanes, and the relocation of Coffaro's Pizza

Students of SRU, there is hope after all. By the end of the semester, the Slippery Rock Lanes are expected to be up and running, and open to the general public.

Coffaro's Pizza owner Rob Coffaro said after selling the former location of the pizza shop (being on Main Street) earlier this March, he secured the purchase of the property for the former Slippery Rock Lanes. After a moving process that lasted about two weeks, Coffaro relocated the shop within the same building as Slippery Rock Lanes, so as to help draw in a bigger crowd for the bowling alley.

In the photo slideshow below, Rob Coffaro talks about the process of opening up the new location, and how things are progressing with work on the bowling alley. Check it out.

The great outdoors: taking a tour of Moraine State Park along PA-Route 528

View A tour of Moraine State Park along PA-Route 528 in a larger map

Inside of Rocky's Grill and Den

A look at some of the selections offered at Rocky's Grill, in the SRU University Union.


Off to the side of Rocky's Grill is Rocky's Den, a lounge area where students can relax and hang out.


Student Lauren Faulkner shares her thoughts about the atmosphere in Rocky's.


Student Jesse Funk expresses his opinion about the food served at Rocky's.

Reaching the inner child

Every day, journalists from all forms of the media are always searching for things of interest that may potentially lead to a good story. We're taught to look at our surroundings and look even more closely for the unusual. Without having to look closely, I can tell you for a fact that in terms of my current surroundings – being the living room of my apartment – I can tell you that right away, I spotted five Nerf darts strewn across the top of my coffee table. With that observation fresh in mind, I could come up with an unusual concept for a story about, say, college students fighting with Nerf guns on campus, and the various types of games involved. But I digress.

Whenever driving along William Flynn Highway/Route 8 between Slippery Rock and Butler, I always pass a building that is designed much like a spaceship. This building alongside the road is the home to Playthings Etc., a family-owned and family-operated toy store – that much I already knew. But finally, curiosity got the best of me. I parked my car in the small parking lot out front, and made my way inside . . .

Upon setting foot inside, the atmosphere of Playthings Etc. blew me away. It was as if I stepped on board to a spaceship – a kind of spaceship that happened to be fitted with aisle after aisle of toys instead of computers and equipment, and occupied by scurrying, giggling children instead of crew members.

Playthings Etc. owner Nadine Shingleton said the store's inventory is meant to appeal to people of all ages. The inventory of the store includes items such as building blocks, collectibles, crafts and equipment for recreational sports.

According to Shingleton, advertising is done through the media from time to time, but their most successful form of advertising has been word of mouth.

It's not hard to see why, either. Between the store's whimsical atmosphere, their friendly and accommodating staff, and their wide selection, I entered and left the store with a smile on my face, and feeling like I was a kid again. Oh, and I left with a set of building blocks.

Playthings Etc. is open Mondays through Saturdays except holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Two sides to every story

When writing an article or a column that explores a potentially heated subject, it's almost always a good idea to read into the ideologies of the opposing perspectives – that is, the backing arguments behind those who support the subject, and those who oppose the topic of discussion.

Take the salaries of professional sports players and actors, for instance. When writing an opinion piece on this subject matter (that is if you find yourself in this position), ask yourself, "Do I feel that professional sports players and actors are overpaid? Why or why not?"

On one end of the court (couldn't resist the pun, so deal with it), there are those who argue that these athletes and actors are paid too much, based on ethical reasoning and economic importance of their occupations. The collective argument on this side, is that salaries and contract earnings of sports players are far too high, because of reasons including intense personal greed on the part of the athletes, and legal action taken by their agents.

On the other hand, some argue that the amount actors and professional athletes are paid is perfectly justified, due to the difficulty of reaching the professional level in sports and Hollywood. People on this side of the argument would raise the points that these professionals are an asset in making money for an entire business and local economy, not just a team. Additionally, this side of the argument raises points about athletes being paid high amounts because their names sell tickets, and because overpayment is only possible when a particular market cannot support those who are involved without losing money.


As it stands, this debate seems as though it will only continue to persist without progressive action on either side. Until then, however, movies will still be made for the big screen, and tickets will continue to be sold for ball games.

To interview a medical genius

Picture yourself as a journalist for a couple of minutes.

You show up to the office for work one morning, and upon punching in at the time clock, your editor approaches you and tells you that you're going to be writing a profile piece about a highly-acclaimed medical expert – an extremely intelligent specialist, who just so happened to make several groundbreaking discoveries throughout his/her career. As you head to your desk, the editor stops you once more to tell you that you have an interview with said medical expert in two hours.

With time ticking away, what's the first thing you do in order to prepare for the interview?

If your answer didn't have anything to do with researching the background of the interviewee, I'd be highly surprised. After all, one primary responsibility one would hold as a journalist is that one must always conduct extensive and thorough research, in order to obtain and report accurate facts for your story.

For example, let's pretend I have an upcoming interview with highly-respected neurologist, Dr. V.S. Ramachandran. Before I continue with my example, let's take a look at his background . . .

This is Dr. Vilayanur Subramanian Ramachandran – the "Marco Polo of neuroscience"

One of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2011, and a writer of over 180 scholarly journals and articles, Dr. V.S. Ramachandran has changed the way we perceive the human brain. Shortly after receiving his M.D. from Stanley Medical College in Madras, India, Dr. Ramachandran moved to the University of Cambridge to study human psychophysics and neurophysiology, and received his Ph.D. in 1978. While known throughout the scientific community for his various works and studies in neuroscience and visual perception, his most famous accomplishment was his discovery that the source of "phantom limb pain" does not emanate from the peripheral nerves near the amputated limb, but from changes in the brain itself. To alleviate and, in some cases, even cure the pain from phantom limbs, Dr. Ramachandran would place a mirror to reflect a patient's existing limb in such a manner that would make it appear as the missing limb. As the patient rearranges his/her limb into a more comfortable position, the reflected limb appears to move along at the same time. In turn, this would change the brain's skewed image of the phantom limb, and in most cases, the patient's pain would cease.

 An example of what is known as "mirror therapy"

To prepare for my interview with Dr. Ramachandran, I would conduct some background research on him and his accomplishments with the use of websites, such as:

1) Time – A highly-recognized and reputable magazine in the industry, Time is an excellent news agency with published articles that are highly informative and well-written, yet relatively easy to read and understand.

2) University of California, San Diego's Center for Brain and Cognition – As this is where he is employed, this website for UCSD's Center for Brain and Cognition has his summarized biography, as well as a list of his scholarly works.

3) University of California, Los Angeles – In some instances, one has to dig over a broad range to find more details regarding the subject. In this case, I was able to find some more details on where and when Dr. Ramachandran went to school, from an old university website for a colloquium held at UCLA in 1998.

4) National Public Radio – For many years, NPR has offered its listeners various radio programs of all sorts of topics. In this instance, I chose to use NPR as a source, so I would know what to expect in terms of how he handles himself in interviews (i.e. how loud/quiet he talks, how talkative he is in conversation).

5) Mirror Box Therapy – This is a website dedicated to mirror box therapy, a form of mirror therapy, and has various posts for browsers to learn more about how it works. As Dr. Ramachandran pioneered mirror therapy to treat pain from phantom limbs, I decided to do more research on the form of therapy, itself.

Now that I've done some basic background research on Dr. Ramachandran, I would then have my questions and be ready for the big interview. But with so much ground to cover, and so many questions to ask, I might wonder to myself – "What should I ask him first? Where do I begin?"

To stick with the example, in which I was assigned to write a profile piece on Dr. Ramachandran, I think the first question I would ask him would be something to the effect of, "How did your interest in researching the effects of phantom limb pain and how it can be treated come about?" As the profile piece's angle would be more focused toward his accomplishments in this particular sect of neuroscience, I would ask this question first to get more information about how he got interested in this phenomena, and how he came about the discovery of mirror therapy.

All in all, it takes a significant amount of work to prepare yourself for an interview with a medical expert, especially if the story is about the expert and his/her accomplishments in their field. But with the proper level of background research from the proper sources, one could pass through the interview with ease and put together an impressive story for the readers.

Every story has its beginning . . .

Writer. Drummer. Dog lover. Fraternity brother. Traveler. Complicated.

Every story has its beginning, no matter how long or short. My story is fairly straightforward.

My name is Andy Treese, and I am an aspiring journalist. Currently in my junior year at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania for Journalism, I decided to get involved and engaged in my ambitions to become more professional and make myself even more prepared for my future line of work - from taking varied courses relevant for my major, to getting involved with the campus newspaper, The Rocket, to even becoming a founding father of the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity on the SRU campus. Ultimately, I want to become a full-time writer or editor for my all-time favorite magazine, Rolling Stone.

Though I've had a diverse set of experiences at SRU thus far, I did not expect to be creating and publishing material I write on my very own blog.

So, why am I on a blog? To get into a habit of trying to keep up with the ever-changing standards of our society? To stay on edge with the competition and further expand my knowledge of technology?

While the answer is yes to the latter-two questions, I gained inspiration to expand my online reporting skills from my New-Media Journalism class. It amazes me how in the course of less than a decade, wireless communication progressed from flip-phones to smart phones and tablets; but more impressive, yet, is the fact that the internet – with the help of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter – has changed the way we get our news. Sure, back when the internet was used for little more than composing emails and visiting pointless websites with dancing hamsters, newspapers like USA Today, as well as radio and television news channels, were the main vehicles used to report the news. Nowadays, it's a completely different ballgame for journalism. Rather than relaying information to reporters and news agencies, bloggers and online writers can take pictures or video of breaking news, and upload them to their social media sites, all at a fraction of the rate other mediums can break the news - even online news blogs, like The Huffington Post.

I may not be certain as to what the future holds for me, my classmates and our future professions, and if I said I was, then I'd be a liar. But what I do know is the road to success in the field of journalism just got a little steeper to climb.

That being said, however . . .

This is only the beginning.