THE PENDULUM
STYLE
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 10. 2010 // PAGE 17
How one student turned his life challenges into a piece of art:
WHEN LIFE HANDED HIM LEMONS
Laura Wainman
Senior Reporter
When junior Jacob Danieley found
out he was going to be a father, he could
have easily run from the situation.
Instead, he chose to face what life had
thrown at him. Two years later, he is
the North Carolina winner of the 2010
John Lennon songwriting competition,
with his award-winning country song,
“Wherever You Go.”
This song tells the story of a teen
discovering he is going to have a child
and becoming the father that God
meant him to be.
“My songs are very life-based, as
about 90 percent of them tell a story,
typically using humor,” Danieley said.
“Songwriting is my avenue for sharing
these stories and speaking to more
than one person.”
Danieley admits this particular
song was very personal for him. It was
inspired by his son and based on his
belief that even if something isn’t in
your plans, it may be God’s plan for
you.
BRIAN ALLENBY j Staff PhotogfBpher
Danieley plays his guitar after winning the 2010
John Lennon songwriting contest.
“Life happens when you are busy
making plans and it is how you respond
that matters,” Danieley said.
Danieley was approached by one of
his professors about submitting to the
John Lennon Songwriting Contest the
day before the deadline.
“Dr. (Todd) Coleman had suggested
that 1 start looking into submitting
my tunes to more competitions, as
the music industry is very interested
in what is on your resume and in your
portfolio, and it just happened that the
deadline for the John Lennon contest
was the next day," Danieley said. “I
knew I still needed to pursue it, so I
looked over the songs I had written,
chose ‘Wherever You Go’, burned a copy
of the song and sent it out.”
Finding out he had been selected
as North Carolina’s winner in the
competition gave Danieley a surge of
hope, which he said was especially nice,
as depression can creep up quickly in
his field.
Though he was excited with his
state-wide win, Danieley is focusing on
the future.
“I want to win nationals, of course,”
Danieley said. “No, honestly, it would
be great just to be noticed, have
someone hear my tune and maybe
get a publishing deal out of the whole
thing.”
A win in a national competition
could put Danieley one step closer to
landing his dream job of writing and
performing in Nashville, Tenn.
“In 10 years I would love to still
be living here in this area so that I
can keep my family in one place, but
be plugged into the Nashville music
scene,” Danieley said. “I have been
fortunate enough to make friends with
some songwriters in Nashville and
have seen their tunes top the charts. I
would love to share that success with
them one day.”
Pursuing his dreams certainly
requires an inordinate amount of
dedication, but Danieley makes sure
that his priorities in life are clearly
outlined.
“God and family are first in my life,
followed by school, and whatever time
is left can be spent on music,” Danieley
said. “I try to come up with at least one
new song idea every day.”
Classroom Internet use
disruptive to learning
Rachel Southmayd
Senior Reporter
Students and teachers
alike can argue the benefits
that can be gained from using
laptops in the classroom.
Opponents argue learning
may come second, when
laptops become a gateway
for social networking during
instructional time.
As of July 2009, almost
one-third of all adults in the
United States used some form
of social networking online,
according to Massachusetts-
based Forrester Research.
Dr. Kenn Gaither, an
assistant professor in the
school of communications,
said there is a time and a
place for everything. He
strongly encourages students
not to use their laptops during
class, but also recognizes
the use of technology in the
classroom is a major issue in
today’s media environment.
“There is enormous
temptation to surf the net
when it is sitting right in front
of you, but it really disrupts
the classroom environment,”
Gaither said.
Frank Hurd, a junior
music technology major
said, shares this opinion.
“It can distract the student
using the laptop,” Hurd said.
“But it can also distract other
students in the vicinity.”
He said there have been
many instances where non-
class-related computer
activities of students have
drawn his attention away
from the professor.
According to Katie King,
an associate professor of
psychology and the associate
director of the Center for the
Advancement of Teaching,
multitasking during class can
be detrimental to the learning
process.
“When students are doing
more than one thing at a time,
they lose focus,” King said.
“Attending to multiple things
keeps you from doing that
deep processing that true
learning requires.”
To cope with the potential
distraction Web sites like
Facebook, Twitter, Skype
and others provide some
professors at Elon have
developed specific rules
regarding laptop use during
class time. All computer labs
have the ability to “lock”
student computers entirely,
or can block out only certain
programs, such as the
Internet.
Communications professor
Nicole Triche has developed
her own rules about computer
use in those classes which
don’t take place in a lab.
“If you have a laptop, I ask
that you sit in the front row,”
Triche said. “This method
reminds students that the
people behind them can see
what they’re doing and keeps
them on task more."
Sophomore David Munoz,
an environmental science
major, is able to resist
the temptation of social
networking by choosing a
more traditional approach
to taking notes: pencil and
paper.
“1 remember things better
what I write them down, and I
find carrying a laptop to be a
burden,” Munoz said.
Gaither pointed out that
professors can identify
students who are using their
computers and laptops to play
games or view other sites not
related to class.
“We’re lucky at Elon because
it’s a small environment, so
it’s hard to hide,” Gaither
said. “In big schools, with
classrooms of 300 or 400
people, the temptation is even
greater.”
For some students, there
is no appeal to in-class
distractions. Freshman
developmental studies major
Jordan Duffey never uses the
Internet in class, and doesn’t
understand why other people
do.
“I’ve never understood why
someone would waste their
money on a class they’re not
going to learn anything from,”
Duffey said. “Floating through
class won’t get them anywhere.
They'll just continue to float
through life.”
Old Country
by Steve Ferguson, Class of 2011
ACROSS
1 Steals
5 Grow crops
9 Cowered (away)
14 Concept
15 Vicinity
16 Group of experts
17Forget-me-
1
2
3
■
14
17
20
10
11
12
13
r
18 Faucet problem
19 Common fried appetizer
20 Understands
22 *Some live over two
millennia
24 Image clarity (abbr.)
26 Upper class
2 7 on you
31 Can be performing or
martial
34 Parts ofthe eye that see
color
35 *1803 purchase
41 Ahead by a goal (2 wds.)
42 Plant bristle
43 Missed the mark
44*Honoredon 2000 state
quarter
46 Gullible
47 Detergent brand
48 Peruvian mountain chain
49 Tidy
53 Allow
55 *1836 battle site (2 wds.)
58 Made a home
63" You, Beth
Cooper" (2 wds.)
64 Share a boundary
66 No longer wild
67 Party pooper
68 Fall short
6 9 mater
70 Last, but not.
71 Sign of sadness
27 28
57
72 Other possible theme
besides 65-Down, based
on starred clues alone
DOWN
1 Boxing arena
2 Stench
3 Second Greek letter
4 Back talk
5 Untrue
6 you ready?
7 Raise, as a child
8 Construct
9 Sullen expression
10 Capital of Vietnam
11 Dolt
12 Wash away
13 Fox homes
21 Program beforehand
23 Arnaz of "I Love Lucy"
25 Dell meat
27 Soap residue
28 Arizona tribe
29 Abbr. in a book of quotes
30 Where a Big Mac can be
found
32 Used an oar
33 Underground pathway
36 Part ofthe legislative
branch
37 "A Flock of Seagulls" hit
38 Extremely dry
39 Actress Campbell of
"Scream"
40 Fruity drinks
45 Active Italian volcano
49 Actress Sevigny
50 Singer Lewis
51 Roof Edges
52 Warning
54 Access
55 Cash box
56 Grain used for brewing
57 Double reed instrument
59 Stick around
60 Imaginative story
61 Watson of Harry Potter
films
62 Letter greeting
65 Theme connecting starred
clues