I am very excited about my presentation in #loweclass #sports that I am planning on doing on the topic of cheerleading. Many people have different opinions about cheerleading being labeled as an actual sport but cheerleading is in fact a competitive sport just as others are. 

So, what makes me so interested in cheerleading? Well, I always wanted to be a cheerleader. I cheered for three years in high school and was a captain of the squad my senior year. 

This was in total a great experience that I would not trade for the world. Rufus King IB High School has always been known for having some of the best cheerleaders in Wisconsin, and I am proud to say that I was one of them. Being apart of this group was like a sisterhood. We spent so much time together outside of practice and grew a very deep bond. 

For my presentation on cheerleading, I am planning on interviewing a few people as sources. I am not sure if I could include myself, but I do want to incorporate a way to express my personal feelings about this topic. I plan to interview my former cheerleading coach, another captain member, and general member of the squad. 

One thing that many people forget about cheerleading is that it is a competitive sport. Cheerleaders are not only present to cheer on and add support to other sports teams. Cheerleading teams compete nationwide and this is a huge part of this sport. 

I plan to discuss how cheerleading is generally portrayed throughout the media. Cheerleading originated as an American sport but it is now local, national, and international. A big issue regarding cheerleading or therefore any sport is the increased risk for injuries. While cheerleading is meant to support an athletic team, its intense competitions at high school and college levels have created a whole new dynamic. 

I am very excited to complete this presentation and I think that I am the right person for this topic being that I have years of experience. A goal of mine is to make others more aware of cheerleading as a sport and not as just a recreational activity. I want others to know the positive impact of cheerleading and why it matters.

On Tuesday, November 6, 2012 I had the privilege to vote in the 2012 Presidential Election. Although I have voted before, this was my first time being able to vote in a Presidential Election. Words cannot describe the feeling of having my voice be heard and I am happy to say that my vote counted!

I also had the wonderful opportunity to live blog this important event. I was stationed just a few blocks from the campus of Marquette University at Grand Avenue Middle School with two other #loweclass #jelection students. 

This experience was quite different from my personal voting experience at a different location earlier that day. The lines for voting were outside of the building and it was so much more live. I will take into consideration the time being that this was earlier that day before the typical work shift. 

At Grand Avenue Middle School, it was much more laid back and quiet. Being that I was there between 11:30am and 1pm, I thought that there would have been a lunch rush, but it was not. One of the voting inspectors explained that he expects it to pick up and be busiest later in the afternoon after the work shift. He explained that it was its busiest earlier that morning with the line being out of the door.  

Although there was not a lot of traffic during the time that I was at the Grand Avenue Middle School polling site, I did manage to ask a fellow voter a few questions regarding her decision and experience with voting. She explained that she was a democrat and was very excited for Barack Obama to win. "All democratics aren't good and all republicans aren't bad." I took this statement as her being open to others' views while still having strong faith in hers. 

On Tuesday, October 30th Assistant General Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, Gord Ash, came in to visit #loweclass #sports. Gord Ash has been involved in sports journalism for over thirty years.  

Gord first started off by saying that journalists who he feel did the best jobs were overall fair. He used and emphasized this word a lot throughout his presentation. He says they credited the Milwaukee Brewers when they did bad and good, not only one. He explains that finding a balance between the two is very important. 

Gord brought up a very interesting point that was mentioned by our last presenter, Sharif Durhams. Gord explains that the big issue now is being first. For example, being the first network to have a story. This sort of coincides with what Shariff Durhams thought. Durhams explained that if your right, that is the ultimate value to any news organization and also readers. In his opinion, it really does not matter who's first. I would have to agree with Durhams because one could be first but still have the wrong information. It is always better to be dependable and to have the correct content.

Professor Lowe also asked Gord about the Ryan Braun situation with steroids. Gord says that he or anyone else did not for sure know if Braun was tested positive. He says that it happened in more of a public fashion than it should have and that he himself had no inside information. Gord explained that their is no such thing as "off the record," because it will eventually show up somewhere, sometime.

One of the biggest issues and battles faced in sports are over injuries. Gord says that it is worse to try and keep a secret and that it is best to give as much information as possible. He then follows with the comment that they can never lie, but do not have to tell all of the truth. I'm not sure if I'm the only one that feels this way, but that's quite similar to telling a lie. "Information is our currency, and we try to keep that private as possible." said Gord Ash. He also added that when asked a direct question, that many tend to "say something without saying anything." This is something that is relatable for me and I've seen this happen quite often particularly in political debates. 

Finally, I learned that promoting is in each players' contract. Players are encouraged to tweet but are monitored to distinguish what is appropriate and inappropriate. A lot of time is also spent giving players media training. An example of proper technique for interviews would be not sitting while being interviewed, etc. These type of things were interesting to know because I was not aware of all of the time and effort that is put into things like this.