Apple in Austin

After a unanimous vote by City council for a tax break, Apple Inc. has announced they will be opening there very own “America’s Operation Center” in Austin, TX. According to The Daily Texan, this center will create 3,600 management, distribution, and advertising jobs in Austin. That is some pretty exciting news for someone like myself who is hoping to continue on as a Texan native working in either the PR or advertising industry.

While the center will initially cost the city of Austin $8.6 million in tax breaks, the $304 million dollar operations center will definitely be giving back to the community. Having the center in Austin, TX is going to be an exciting opportunity for not only University of Texas students but also graduates. In fact, this is a large reasoning for why Apple has decided to build the center here. With the Universities expertise in all of the needed departments, it was easy to decide that the city was fully capable of providing apple with the necessary specialists to make this center successful.

While I personally do not have the computer science or electrical engineering qualifications which may very well be needed to be a part of the “operations” for apple, with advertising jobs on the line as well this center seems to have opportunities for pretty much everyone.

Lucky for Austin the deal is “performance based” meaning Apple has to meet certain criteria for job availablitity and benefits in order for them to receive the tax breaks. Looks like Apple won’t be skipping out on their side of the bargain, so all you soon to be grads get your resumes and interview skills in tip top shape. Apple is coming to Austin!

Cartoon Controversy

It has been one of the most talked about controversies on campus for as long as I can remember. Forget the on again, off again campus wide elections that caused a stir the past couple of weeks…they don’t have anything on The Daily Texan’s latest published issue.

Tuesday’s issue, which featured a political cartoon of the Trayvon Martin case, has sparked quite the deserved debate across campus and The Daily Texan has been feeling the repercussions ever since. The cartoon has been scrutinized for picturing a judge calling Martin a “colored boy.” The cartoon artist Stephanie Eisner claimed that she was interpreting it as a “critique of media coverage surrounding the case, not racist.” After apologizing, she was fired from the Daily Texan board and has not released any further statements.

The editing board of the magazine all okayed the cartoon for publishing and never called the attention of their advisor to get a second opinion before publishing. I think the board, as well as other journalism students, learned a valuable lesson this week that although views of racism have changed, people are still as sensitive today as in the past and for a valid reason. While I think that the cartoon was a terrible representation of The University of Texas, the student run newspaper is a learning experience and the cartoon artist should not have been fired for her actions but instead taught the importance of representing all of the students at the university.

University of Texas Political Frenzy

It’s no surprise on The University of Texas campus that Madison Gardner and Antonio Guevara were reinstated to run in the student body presidential election on Monday night. As if the reasoning for their disqualification in the race wasn’t unfair enough, the university entering into a lawsuit with the candidates would have been more bad publicity for the entire event.

I was beginning to write this article when the race for Madison and Antonio took another turn, one they will not be able to come back from. Madison and Antonio have once again been suspended but this time for valid reasons the entire student body can respect. They faced charges of falsifying financial statements and failure to turn in receipts for their current website they are using to campaign.

With all this attention on Madison and Antonio, the real question is does anyone know what happened to the girl who appeared in their campaign photo that originally had them disqualified. Carissa Kelley, who was running for another university wide position, decided to run after taking part in campaign photos for Madison and Antonio, knowing that there was a rule that no candidates could be endorsing another. So why wasn't she the one getting all the negative attention and the one who’s suspension was made well known across campus?

I guess this just proves where the real news lies in our society. Good news only revolves around the public figures that our entire community is aware of. Think of the publicity Madison and Antonio’s suspension received. University organizations were supportive of the candidates and almost immediately began at work to help them be reinstated.

I have a feeling the reaction towards Carissa would not have been the same. No offense to her of course. Interesting how this has all panned out. No matter the circumstances it has just reinstated the idea in my mind that running for student government sounds like the most tedious job and not something that gives that much in return. Regardless of my personal thoughts, good luck to the remaining candidates!

Homeless Hotspots

While South by Southwest, is usually known for its continuous live music and film, this year, the festival got its most attention for neither of the two. Instead attendees and participators have geared their attention to the newest wi-fi campaign created for SXSW, “Homeless Hotspots.” Homeless men who agreed to participate were given t-shirts that said their name and that they were a hotspot and then were geared up with technology to provide SXSW guests with a wi-fi connection in the busy crowds where it was hard to find service.  All people had to do was give a small donation to the homeless man and they were given a connection.

Seems fair enough, right? The homeless people are provided with a job, festival attendees are given a wi-fi connection, and the mobile companies don't have to pay high fees to set up stations for employees to work and administer wi-fi. Think again. Critics were distraught by the idea of using homeless people to carry around a wi-fi connection. According to critics, this was using homeless people for a service, and not paying attention to the fact that they lead lives, stories, and have emotions.

So I pose the question….Why is it not okay for a homeless man to get paid to administer this service, but it would have gone completely unnoticed if a service provider’s actual employee was sitting at a station providing guests with a service? Wouldn’t that be using the employee for a service too? Yet out society finds absolutely no problem with that.

I think today critics are trying to find anything to tear down a company and their ingenious ideas. No matter the idea, it is always “looking down on a group of people” or “unethical.” This was a great way for the Austin community to employ those in need to better both the festival and their lives. I’ve worked with the homeless before and I’m pretty sure any opportunity they have to continue leading their normal lives and get paid for it, they would be more than happy to take part in.

A Positive Privilege

This week Southwest Airlines released the news that they will be giving $2.4 million worth of flights through the Medical Transportation Grant Program. The flights are given to individuals in need of transportation to travel in order to receive medical attention and treatment.

This grant program lies in a special part of my heart. Four years ago one of my good family friends, Taylor, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer only treated in St. Louis. Despite multiple trips to medical facilities in Dallas, as well as, M.D. Anderson, St. Louis was her only option. Taylor was one of three kids, with a family fighting to stay afloat in the overflow on medical bills that came their way. Southwest Airlines was there for each step of the journey.

Not only does Southwest have the opportunity to see the impact they are making, but they receive positive publicity on all media platforms. I have seen as many articles over the past few days about Southwest’s donations as I have other top news stories in the country. So I ask the question of why don't more companies give back to their communities?

Many companies today are so blessed financially and have the ability to give to those in need, but don't and why not? Why would a company not want the great publicity and reputation that comes along with philanthropic work? Beats me but after reading about the good Southwest does for its community, it is a no brainer for me. If I’m ever in charge one day, the publicity will just be a positive, doing philanthropic work will be a privilege.

Interview Anxiety

It’s that time of year when not only is does school seem to occupy the vast majority of student’s time but add the process of applying for jobs and internships and then anxiety levels at The University of Texas are skyrocketing. It’s one thing to have to worry about the grades you will get on your upcoming four tests in the next four days, but to have to worry about the job that may pave way for your future is a completely different story. This, I am currently experiencing first hand.

I’m beginning to see the importance and great amount of stress put on interviews. While resumes list your credentials and a little insight into what you have put your hard work toward, each company I have interviewed with has been more interested in the way I communicate both verbally and written than my actual past experience.

Research has been my best friend throughout the process (Jeff and Brittany would be happy to hear this). I feel if you know the company and what the position entails, you are able to be more confident in both yourself and how your accomplishments apply to the job.

Overall, I have found applying for internships to be a LONG waiting game. Considering I began the process in December and have finally reached the final rounds in February, I’d consider this to be a long awaited decision. Maybe it’s just my type of personality… I like to know my test grade right after I take it or have to know what a surprise is as soon as I find out there is actually a surprise.

So for all of you stressing and waiting for your future to be unveiled, remember you have prepared for this moment in time and everything happens for a reason. As for me, I will try and remind myself of this too.