New Tutorials and Activities Available for Free with Cengage Unlimited Subscriptions

BOSTON—August 17, 2021 — In a recent Cengage survey, half of college graduates said they felt underqualified to enter the workforce. To help students develop important employability skills and better prepare for work, Cengage, a global education technology company, is making additional career support available for free via Cengage Unlimited, the first all access subscription for textbooks and course materials. In addition to their course materials, subscribers can access more than 100 employability modules covering everything from how to get career ready, assess employability skills, explore careers and get a job.

“The number one reason students attend college is to get a job, so it’s a major problem if half of graduates don’t feel ready for the workforce,” said Fernando Bleichmar, Executive Vice President and General Manager, U.S. Higher Education at Cengage. “Students often aren’t even aware how the skills they have map to different jobs that are available to them. We need to do more to ensure students are job ready, not just degree-ready. The new employability modules in Cengage Unlimited are an important step in the right direction.”

The new modules, created with noted expert and career coach Ashley Stahl, are included in the Career Center and cover:

• Exploring Careers: resources to help students understand what careers match their skillsets and interests, what jobs are available to them as well as salary information for different positions.

• Getting Career Ready: videos, quizzes and activities to help student build important in-demand employability skills in communication, digital literacy, critical thinking, professionalism, adaptability on the job, and more.

• Getting the Job: information to help students get the job they want, including job search tips, resume writing, cover letter and portfolio help as well as interviewing preparation.

For Lindsey Myers, a former Cengage student ambassador and a recent graduate of El Paso Community College, the Career Center resources were helpful for planning for future beyond college. “The Career Center helped give me an idea of different career paths out there for me I didn’t even know about,” said Myers.

University of Alabama graduate Katie Roberts also used the Career Center tools to map her major to potential occupations and salaries in the real world. “This has given me a better sense of what I want to do in the future and where I should be focusing to achieve my career goals.”

The Career Center is included for free with Cengage Unlimited and Cengage Unlimited eTextbooks subscriptions.

For more information about Cengage Unlimited visit: cengage.com/unlimited.

For more information about the Career Center and other tools available with a Cengage Unlimited subscription, visit: cengage.com/unlimited/perks/.

About Cengage
Cengage, a global education technology company serving millions of learners, provides quality digital products and services, equipping students with the skills and competencies needed to advance their careers and improve their lives. We serve the K-12, higher education, professional, library, English language teaching and workforce training markets worldwide. Our industry-leading products and services make education more accessible and affordable, including Cengage Unlimited, the first-of-its-kind all-access digital subscription service. Visit us at www.cengage.com or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

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Media Contact
Kristina Massari
Cengage
203-965-8694
kristina.massari@cengage.com

Positive COVD-19 cases have more than doubled since last week, with Georgia Southern officials reporting 188 cases after the first week of class.

Case numbers haven’t topped 150 since last fall before GS first started administering the vaccine.

“As we prepare for the first day of Fall 2021 classes this week, the report below indicates 16 confirmed and 57 self-reported cases last week,” said a disclaimer on GS’ website. “Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to take advantage of our on-going on-campus opportunities to get a COVID-19 vaccination.”

16 cases were reported from employees. 60 cases were reported on Statesboro’s campus, 13 on Armstrong’s campus and zero on Liberty’s campus.

COVID-19 Analysis

• Total positive cases: 188
• University confirmed: 29
• Self reported: 159
• Students: 168
• Employees: 20
• Statesboro campus: 139
• Armstrong campus: 42
• Liberty campus: 7

The post GS announces 188 positive COVID-19 cases after first week appeared first on The George-Anne Media Group.

When COVID-19 entered the United States early last year, no one could foresee the tumultuous year that would follow. The virus disrupted school curriculums, workplace norms and family dynamics, all while leaving a trail of pestilence in its wake.

Evening pages

A practice my high school English teacher once recommended to me was something called “Morning Pages,” a system where you write every morning, without fail, to unblock your creative senses and encourage the flow of thought. 

“Morning Pages” has strict rules. For one, there is to be no punctuation, just pure thought, stream-of-consciousness style to fill as many pages as you feel comfortable filling. Secondly, your words must be contained in a notebook — old school — that you are certain will not be seen or read by a single soul. Part of its sanctity is that creativity cannot be subject to judgment, and you are free to write with the knowledge that there will be no consequences to your penned ideas. Thirdly, it is to be done as soon as you wake up: Your journal can accompany you at your bedside and should be one of the first things you turn to in the morning. You can write about your dreams, if you remember them, or your worries for the day, or what you want to eat for breakfast. The idea is to heighten and encourage one’s comfort with an uninterrupted flow of thought in writing. 

I planned to do “Morning Pages” multiple times this summer, but it never seemed to work out. I get a splitting headache if I attempt serious thought or work before I drink my morning coffee, and I’m able to admit that my mornings are usually consumed by checking social media, texts and emails from the side of the globe that I’m away from — India and America are 12 hours different. I even planned to try out “Morning Pages” if only for the sake of this column, to test if it really does help me write better, or if it sharpens my focus, or has some other miraculous effect on my work. 

But this summer, I realized I was writing — and channeling my stream of consciousness — in different ways. After some mental health setbacks, I was advised by my therapist to journal every day. The task continually changes, from reflections to mood charts to lists to letters. It’s a huge form of catharsis, I’ve discovered, to have an outlet that no one reads, fully dedicated to myself. As selfish as that might sound, it allows me to save my humbler side for those around me, and to direct my shortcomings, my inflated pride, my deepest, darkest fears that people needn’t always be subjected to, to my journal. 

Yet, in spite of my best efforts to keep my thoughts private, I’ve also written this column once a week. Unlike my journal, it is public. It has to be coherent, somewhat interesting and deeply personal. My column is meant to be about my relationship with art, but because writing and film and dance are so intensely personal to me, this column has felt like a more refined version of my journal, rather than an abstract analysis of my taste. It forces me, even if it’s at a small level, to be openly vulnerable and honest and to tell my story in an engaging manner. 

I don’t think I’ve ever done so much consistent writing before. Writing, done well, forces you to lay forth your thoughts, examine them, edit them and, depending on the outlet, present them in a way that is both coherent and cohesive. Through my column, I seem to have found my own “Morning Pages.” I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with quickly writing down ideas, with tuning into a daily or weekly routine of putting words on a page. I’m ever-so-slowly discarding the notion that creativity or the next best idea needs to come to me in a particularly inspired moment. I just have to get better at opening our channels of thoughts, shielding them from judgment, yet always leaving them open to examination.

And I’ve developed my own new writing system: evening pages. Quiet nights, wherever they might be, are best saved for my journaling, to reflect on and sum up the day, while mornings are best for more public forms of writing. I’m full of energy, ready to present myself and take on the world. 

I’m grateful to have been able to talk about my experiences with art for these past few weeks in this column. It is so cathartic to realize that your deepest vulnerabilities and toughest moments are actually not that uncommon, that art is a binding factor beyond our wildest imaginations and that there is beauty in honestly acknowledging our experiences. I’m also happy to admit that I am glad that I can conclude this exercise — that I can take a break from talking about myself and revert to my usual state, back to absorbing the words and images of those more articulate than me. 

Megha Ganapathy writes the Monday A&E column on learning and growing from experiences with art. Contact her at mganapathy@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

(Pixabay/ColiN00B)

I’ve spent my life chasing originality — I’m obsessed with it. Originality is difficult to define, but for now I believe it can be anything that is created or recreated, so long that it encapsulates part of who you are. 

I know I’m not alone in feeling stressed, motivated by the thought that being anything less than original somehow represents my inability to show my authentic self. As humans who are constantly evolving and changing the world, our greatest fear is no longer the unknown; it is now banal irrelevance. For that reason, our fixation on being special can actually impede our creativity and authenticity. 

Just as artists hope to be remembered, so do the rest of us: we want to leave a legacy. So, we overemphasize originality to satisfy our craving for immortality. But the truth is, originality gets boring. Trying to be unique and “never seen before” loses impact if everyone is doing it just to do it. By associating originality with creativity, people are driven to be one of a kind, so to speak, and to obsess over the belief that something only has value if it is somehow new. At its best, this mentality has changed and could change the world. Yet more often than not, artists who truly innovate are rare; holding oneself to that standard will only stifle creativity. 

The education system and workforce constantly pressure us to be original. From product marketers to job interviewers to teachers at school, everyone asks the same questions: what makes you stand out? What makes you different? What makes you special compared to the seven billion other people on this planet?

Society isn’t lacking in ideas. What we’re missing is the elevation of new voices and perspectives in the world. Not every human experience is totally original, and each of us shares, to some extent, the same basic human emotions and desires. But your interpretation of them encapsulates a set of ideas, values and events in a way that no one else can truly understand. While much of our actions and decisions are influenced by other people and our surroundings, there is still a marked difference in our response, interpretation and memory of other people’s stories, words and experiences. What you create is special not because of its relative originality, but instead because it is the expression of the world and your experience of it through your eyes. 

I started writing music in high school. However, I constantly berate myself up for not being able to write the next best song with unique chords and melodic lines. I kept asking myself, why am I writing songs if there are people out there doing it longer, better and more expressively than I? I don’t believe for a second that no one else has felt this way. And no wonder; it’s nothing more than a manifestation of our fear of mediocrity, and it prevents us from exploring different facets of ourselves in lieu of the status quo. 

Recently, a viral video on Twitter alleged that all of pop musician Olivia Rodrigo’s songs sound like popular classics from other artists like Taylor Swift and Paramore. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did, especially given that Rodrigo has frequently cited Swift, Paramore and other established artists as sources of lyrical and melodical inspiration. Her songs’ themes and melodies notwithstanding, her voice and her story remain her own. We can only relate to so many human emotions and experiences, so don’t get your panties in a twist just because another teenager is writing about love and heartbreak.

We can’t assign quantitative values of originality to every new artist, new writer or new creator to determine their worth. So much of art is about blending, recombining and sometimes borrowing traditional techniques and genres to create in ways that we haven’t always thought about before, and it’s time to loosen up on our definitions. Take Axis of Awesome’s “4 Chord Song,” for example; the band uses just four chords to play over 20 songs spanning several genres and time periods. Are all these songs unoriginal copycats? No. Are all these artists intentionally ripping off others? No. Every artist builds on their inspirations and adds their work to millennia of human creativity. 

Art, whether it be music, TV or movies, represent the voices of its creators. At its best, art unites people in their humanity and their experiences. Originality is only valuable to a certain extent, but meeting that standard should not be imperative to self value. Losing your voice to seek it out is not worth it. I’d rather express my real thoughts, feelings and emotions in search of someone out there who can say, “I get you, and I feel that way too.”

Be unapologetic about who you are. Be inspired by those who came before you and don’t succumb to preoccupation with originality. Create because you want to, and don’t stop because someone else has already done it before.

Sophia Ling (24C) is from Carmel, Indiana.

The post Originality is overrated. appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents approved the “Get the Vax 2.0” policy at a special board meeting Friday, a plan that makes the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for students contingent on U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

Currently, the FDA has only approved COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use, but University leadership expects that full approval of at least one vaccine is imminent. Previously, the University chose not to require masks or vaccines for students, faculty and staff, until recent increases in cases and transmission with the delta variant.

“We need to take action here to prevent another period of remote learning in our University triggered by another surge in the pandemic,” board chair Kendall Powell said at the meeting. “This resolution would allow us to do that.”

As it stands, “Get the Vax 2.0” would impact the entire University community, but in different ways, according to University President Joan Gabel.

There will be qualifying exemptions that allow students to remain unvaccinated in certain situations. These include medical exemptions with the appropriate documentation from a clinician, as well as exemptions related to religion, Gabel said.

For current required vaccines, there are medical, religious, and conscientious exemptions, Regent Darrin Rosha said at the meeting. The COVID-19 vaccine requirement will not include a conscientious exemption, which allows students to opt out of the vaccine due to personal beliefs, so it will be treated differently than other required vaccines.

Under “Get the Vax 2.0,” faculty and staff will not need to adhere to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but they will confirm whether they are vaccinated through online attestation, Gabel said. They will also undergo frequent testing when necessary if they are exposed to the virus or experiencing symptoms, especially if they are not vaccinated.

“The difference in how faculty and staff are being treated and how students are being treated is a reflection of the fact that students are currently covered under a vaccine mandate policy, and faculty and staff are not,” Gabel said at the meeting.

Gabel also said there is nothing preventing a vaccine mandate for staff and faculty, and the University might add those groups to the mandate in the future.

The indoor masking mandate will also continue as part of the “Get the Vax 2.0” policy, Gabel said. The University will regularly review this mandate as data is updated.

Gabel said the University’s decisions to mandate indoor masking and vaccines upon FDA approval were based on information from health experts, data and trends, both nationally and locally.

While the majority of the board was in favor of this policy with a 10-1 vote to approve it, there were still concerns among the University community.

One concern among students is the timeline of this policy, Regent James Farnsworth said at the meeting. Once the FDA approves a vaccine, the proposed student mandate would take effect six weeks later. Some people think this may be too late, according to Farnsworth.

Gabel said there will be a grace period with this policy as there is for other vaccines, however, full details of that grace period have not been finalized and released yet.

“Details on timing and grace periods for the vaccine requirement…and how we’ll work failure to comply and the consequences for that are forthcoming [and] being managed through shared governance,” Gabel said at the meeting.

The Senate Consultative Committee along with other University leaders will hold a virtual town hall at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 18 to provide more details on the policy and answer questions from University community members that have not been addressed.

While this policy will mandate vaccines for students and more closely monitor staff and faculty, most of the University community that has been surveyed so far is already vaccinated, Gabel said.

“This [policy] is to close as much of the gap as possible in order to ensure the delta variant and other variants that may be coming do not interfere with our strong desire to have the most robust fall semester we possibly can,” Gable said at the meeting.

Delgado, a student in Sargent, died on July 31 at 21 years old. She is remembered for her passion for public health, her deep love for her family, her unique laugh and her kindness.

GS athletes capitalize under new NIL rules

A handful of Georgia Southern athletes began signing on with companies, profiting off of their name, image and likeness after the NCAA’s new ruling in July.

Eagle quarterback Sam Kenerson agreed to numerous deals within the first week of the new rules being introduced and invites more.

Business Inquires !! pic.twitter.com/Vud1dDwInL

— Samuel Kenerson (@richhomiesam6) July 10, 2021

Kenerson partnered with Yoke Gaming, Original Ugly, Red Stick Sports, KeepGrindinYouth, WatchMeWerk Apparel and Lavish Life Sneakers.

Who is trying to run some Fortnite? Download @yokegaming and let’s get it https://t.co/das4k0QKwb

— Samuel Kenerson (@richhomiesam6) July 1, 2021

Linebacker Todd Bradley-Glenn took the opportunity to launch his construction business, Bradley-Glen Construction, LLC. Among Glenn’s primary services is television mounting and cable management, although he has completed many other jobs.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bradley-Glenn Construction LLC (@tbgconstructionllc_)

Fellow linebacker Benz Josue launched his personal photography business, SwayVisionz, LLC.

“I want SwayVisionz to be a brand that influences and inspires people to believe in their vision and keep pushing forward,” read his mission statement. “Also… to sway means to influence or gain authority, meaning dominance, and being a leader, and having the desire to dominate everything that you do. Being a winner.”

Josue practices both photography and videography and is available for booking on his website.

Defensive lineman Gavin Adcock has used the new NIL rules to jumpstart his music career.

“Ain’t No Cure” August 12th!!!! Be Ready!!! pic.twitter.com/07qCFJaeC3

— Gavin Adcock (@GavinAdcock) July 30, 2021

Adcock has released multiple songs and performed at Southern Social in Statesboro.

Offensive lineman Logan Langemeier, Anthony Beck and Alex Raynor, along with Adcock and Glenn agreed to become Barstool Athletes.

The George-Anne reached out to all the athletes mentioned for comment, but has not yet received any responses.

The post Eagle entrepreneurs: Athletes profit off name, image, likeness appeared first on The George-Anne Media Group.

One of my earliest memories is driving home from a family reunion in southern Utah during a raging wildfire. The stinging smell of smoke and the heat radiating throughout the car is imprinted in my mind. Every year, when I go down south, I see the effects of this wildfire and others.

Since 1983, there have been three years where 10 million acres were burned from wildfires; all of these happened in just the last seven years. By all available metrics, wildfires in the United States are getting worse. But how do we stop them? While climate change is certainly to blame for a portion of worsening wildfires, it’s important to look at short-term fixes that could significantly reduce the environmental impact we’re seeing yearly.

The simplest way to look at the increasing damage caused by wildfires each year is through the lens of climate change. As the Earth gets warmer and drier, studies show increased droughts and longer wildfire seasons. These conditions allow certain insects that feast on trees, thus weakening their fire defense, to thrive. For example, the mountain pine beetle has caused significant forest damage in Idaho.

While the effects of climate change haven’t seemed to change the number of wildfires each year (the total number of wildfires is actually down from the late 1980s), their intensity has grown. Warmer temperatures have increased droughts, making trees and brush drier and more flammable.

With widening the range of wildfire season, blackened, dead trees have become a much more common sight. Many people in the Western United States live with the fear that a wildfire will come too close. In some cases, they already have. This June, the Knolls Fire of Saratoga Springs, Utah damaged and destroyed homes. Each year, these reports become more common.

Obviously, the holistic fix is to slow and adapt to the effects of climate change, but with scientists saying that it could take several decades, it’s not an immediate solution. Climate change undoubtedly worsens the effect of wildfire season each year, but with a long-term solution so far out, it’s important to do what we can right now.

In the September 2020 Presidential Debate, former President Donald Trump took aim at California Governor Gavin Newsom, claiming California’s neglectful forest management led to a great increase in the severity of wildfires in his state.

While that debate was something that most people would like to forget, Trump made a good point. A common strategy to reduce the impact of wildfires is to control how dense forests can get. Often done through controlled burns, these strategies seek to reduce the flammability of forest floors, making wildfires easier to control. Fire experts say that California forests have been mismanaged, and much greater efforts are needed to slow intense fire damage.

But Trump did make an important oversight in his argument. In California, 57% of forests are federal land, meaning from 2016-2020, it was partially his job to fund forest management in California. Unfortunately, that funding was hard to come by.

The budget for the National Forest Service, responsible for wildfire management on federal lands, decreased every year of Trump’s presidency. So, while he was correct in pointing out Governor Newsom’s missteps, his own actions made it difficult to mitigate the effects of wildfires. Forest management is vital to keeping wildfire damage low, and without funding on the state or federal level, the job will never get done.

Most of the fixes for the growing wildfire threat come at a political level, but individuals can be a part of the solution. There are plenty of ways you can contribute to mitigating wildfire damage. The simplest action is to not start fires you can’t control. More than 80% of wildfires each year are human-caused and are almost always preventable. By following basic fire safety guidelines, thousands of acres can be saved.

Next, don’t stop fighting to slow the effects of climate change. Just because it would take a long time to reverse doesn’t mean the effort isn’t necessary. Get out and protest. Call your legislators. Continue being the generation that fights climate change.

Finally, don’t fall into the trap of believing that forest management harms the environment. While there are examples of controlled burns gone awry, the benefits cannot be overstated. Of course, we should demand controlled burns in a smart and safe way, but without them, we’d be toast. If you live in the Western U.S., you’ve likely been affected — or know someone who has been affected — by a wildfire. While it may seem like just a political issue, it’s also up to each of us to slow them down.

At the end of every wildfire season comes more concern about just how bad these fires can get. More homes will be affected, and fires will get harder to control. Wildfires are getting worse and there’s no way around it. But we can mitigate them. By continuing the fight against climate change, wildfires will reduce in severity, but that will take time. For now, the focus must be slightly shifted towards forest management funding and personal responsibility. Believe and push for the benefits of forest management. Most of all, be safe when handling fire because, as some bear once told me, “only you can prevent forest fires.”

jackson.brown@dailyutahchronicle.com

@JacksonsTakes

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The post Brown: Wildfires Aren’t Just a Climate Change Issue appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

Oh, to be a woman!

I have always found the depiction of women in the media fascinating. Shampoo commercials of tall women with soft, flowing hair captivate me; pictures on Pinterest of girls posing with their cute dresses can stall me for hours. There’s something romantic about pretending to live in the world that the media pretends we live in: where all women are seen as beautiful, where we each turn heads when we walk down the street, where every piece of clothing we try on is stunning. It’s fun to pretend, even, that whenever I buy clothes or makeup, this is how I’ll feel.

Something about it is positive, I’ll admit, in a twisted way. Something about glamorizing women by putting them inside perfect sceneries and giving them expensive, air-brushed looks works to encourage an appreciation of women, while in other contexts they may be belittled. Something about portraying women as powerful individuals without the presence of a man can feel relieving and inclusive.

This is the American media’s concept of a perfect woman. In some ways, even today, it gives me hope.

More than that though, it frustrates me.

Through the years, I’ve started to see this model American woman as having more than just the physical looks women idealize. She also has the looks men idealize and use to measure and to assign value to women. She has an aura of self-assuredness that I could never even pretend to have myself. She doesn’t need to look for male validation and self-validation — but because she doesn’t and I do, I seem to want that validation more.

I’ve hated her, the American media’s “perfect woman,” because I want to be her. It’s embarrassing because I know that the media does not value me, this young, Asian American woman who grew up in a majority-white neighborhood, surrounded by girls who belong on runways with their long legs and golden hair and long eyelashes that stay curled, unlike my stubby Asian ones. But I still compare myself to the ideal of a woman they have created. I compare myself to her while fully understanding that I am simply not like her, and that’s not my fault.

It’s natural to blame the media for this — and I will.

In general, women of color are historically underrepresented in America. Even when we are represented, it’s usually because of our differences — such as the fetishization of Asians and the orientalization of white features for the ‘aesthetic’ — and further dehumanizes us while heightening our feelings of inferiority. As a result, whether intentional or not, Western media’s seeming acknowledgment of Asian Americans and women of color still plays into largely sexual representations of us. This not only alienates typical Asian Americans and women of color but allows for the male gaze to intensify toward women of color — to see us more as sex figures than as women who hold powerful positions in society.

Women of color are always in the minority — not just in terms of representation, but in the progress made in American media where women are seen as independent and confident outside of being sex figures. Truly, then, our media is at fault and will be for a long time. Of all the things the media could promote for women everywhere, it chose to promote physical and sexual beauty, blindly ignoring the damaging ramifications that are intensified for women of color.

However, I too am at fault for perpetuating this idea of the ideal American woman. 

Sometimes, it seems harmless. I buy clothes or watch American TV shows that make me feel included. I play with the idea that I, too, am desirable and unique in the way the media suggests I be. None of these things are inherently bad; it’s OK to want to be seen as powerful or pretty. 

Still, I’ve noticed that my Asian American female peers and I have created our own, slightly more ‘reasonable’ standard of the perfect Asian American woman all by ourselves through our own view of Western ideals. Perhaps it’s been created through years of white validation as well. Whatever it is, I’ve started to notice that this has become my own subconscious goal: to become the ideal Asian American woman who is allowed to have her Asian features while imitating many aspects of the white American woman — her outgoingness, her confidence, her beauty in the eyes of Western media.

Honestly, I recognize that I promote this idealized Asian American woman through my actions and my priorities. Still, some part of me allows it. I’d rather be overly Americanized than overly sexualized. In this country, those two views feel like the only way women with my skin color are ever actually seen or celebrated.

It would be unrealistic of me to wrap up this article by saying that I hope things will get better and that all women will be seen as beautiful. Beyond my own stories, there are hundreds of thousands of others from women of color who struggle with loving themselves because of the media’s — and their own — pressure to fit into the American model of an ideal woman. Some even shape their lives around that pressure.

I know that each woman has something to offer to the world, and it’s not because of media or our society at all. It’s only because we as individuals must believe and encourage that sort of confidence for women to make it true.

Bella Chang writes the Friday column on being a person of color at UC Berkeley. Contact the opinion desk at opinion@dailycal.org or follow us on Twitter @dailycalopinion.

The Daily Californian