[REPORT] Also WIUC has caught the dancehall fever!

Music genres come and go. The latest popular genre is the iconic Jamaican music dancehall. Students of Wisconsin could not keep their cool when the Queen of dancehall Ebony reached the stage during the last SRC-week celebrations. The campus was full-packed. The performance also attracted students from other universities. When the Queen brought a student on stage and gave him a lap dance the audience screamed with excitement as they caught the fever.

Dancehall fever is spreading wide and fast. “I have been infected by the dancehall fever and I love the feeling the music gives me. You can not just resist an amazing dancehall tune,” says Tonye Tariah, a L400 IT-student.

Dancehall music is one of the most energetic danceable music with its crazy tunes, rhythms and fast beats. “It is never a dull moment listening to it,” says Okon Eni-obong Abigail, a L200 Accountancy student. Many artistes have been able to fill up stadia with this genre. An unbreakable record has been set by Shata Wale, a popular dancehall star in Ghana. He filled the entire stadium when his album After The Storm was launched. It is the effect of dancehall fever.

Dancehall is also known as bashment, the mother of hiphop. The name comes from the popular Jamaican recordings that were aired during parties with local sound systems. Dancehall is long considered to be the creation of the musician Henry Junjo Lawes. The term comes with an entire culture of music, dance and social engagement.

The dancehall fever seems to be incurable. You can find it in every corner of the country including the various campuses such as Wisconsin. People start to dance when the tunes starts to play. Musicians as Shata Wale has taken over the airwaves in the country. Even kids know every lyric of the songs. Dancehall has become one of the most patronize music genres. 

Culture Desk Reporters: Princess Omoferi, Rashida, Hassana Camara and Erica 

[INTERVIEW] French lecturer: ‘I want to inspire my students’

 Mrs Juliana Nikio is a French lecturer at Wisconsin. She is one of those teachers who has taught all the students at school. No one is able to escape her French courses. With a degree in International Relations (UG) she has worked with organizations such as the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. She is fluent in English, French and Twi. In 2009 she started at Wisconsin and she has come across students with different backgrounds and characters. WizzBuzzBlog found out how she experiences her relationship with the students here.

How would you describe your relationship with students? 

“I see myself as someone who affects the lives of students positively and not just lecturing them. I see them as my brothers and sisters. My main philosophy is to be a source of inspiration to them. My relationship with them is not strictly formal, because that would make it difficult for some students to ask questions.”

What creates a cordial relationship between students and teachers? 

“There are ‘pros and cons’ to every relationship. Students come from different backgrounds that has formed their behaviour. Some students may take you for granted or start to disrespect you if they feel you are not as strict as some other lecturers. With such students there are limits to how far you can take them.”

How do you handle disrespectful students? 

“I try my best to acknowledge that we are all different. Nevertheless, I will do my own part by correcting them and walk them out.” 

Do students approach you to change their grades?

“Yes they do, but I simply tell them there is nothing I can do. Also I advice them to resit.”

Do you favour some students above others? 

“No I do not, I even pay attention to the less attentive students.”

      

Human Interest Desk Reporters: Adomako Ansah Paulina, Annang Beulah, Anthonio Joy, Edeh Catherine 

[ FOOD, HEALTH] EAT BREAKFAST, STAY HEALTHY

 Photo Credit: Aisha Abdullahi

Breakfast has become an important meal over the years because it provides the brain and body with fuel to start the day. Most people say it is preferable to eat 30 minutes or an hour after you wake up, most say its better if you gauge yourself and eat when the hunger kicks in as far as it is still within 6 am to 10 am.

A small interview was conducted in Wisconsin university with the students and few questions were asked like how they feel when they have breakfast before coming to school, their performances in class, if they had retentive memory, and the benefits of breakfast etc. Their response were related to that of the researches carried out except most of them did not know its benefits.

A lot of the students said breakfast in the mornings before class helped them pay more attention and understand what they are being taught. A student, Miss Princess Omoferi Okeoghene “I’ve noticed that the days I take something in the morning, I am more retentive in class and the days I do not, if the class takes 10 more minutes than the usual time I get irritated and start murmuring I’m hungry, I’m hungry even when I’m not, because I already have that I skipped breakfast in mind”. Some of them who have early classes and miss breakfast say they get very cranky and just want to get out of class because they get very irritated and pissed. Most of them complained because they knew the importance of breakfast but they do not get time to eat in the mornings due to how early their classes were.

Asides providing us with energy, breakfast is a good source of important nutrients such as calcium, vitamin B, irons, proteins and fiber. Research has shown that eating breakfast increases mental alertness and physical performance and also keeps you from gaining unnecessary weight. Researchers from National Weight Control Registry, shows a database of 3,000 people who lost at least 60 pounds and maintained their normal weight for an average of 6 years, says breakfast is a weight control strategy, according to a site called Mr. Breakfast. Research also shows that students who eat breakfast have better retentive memory and perform better on school work and have fewer behavior problems.

Questions were also asked on how to ensure as a student that breakfast was taken each day. Most of them said that even if they had an early class, there usually is a 30 minutes break or sometimes an hour break before the next class starts and they try and get their breakfast then, “better late than never”.Some suggested packing your breakfast on the go. That is either making or packing your breakfast overnight and eating on the way to school. 

Lifestyle Desk Reporters: Amanda Odai, Aisha Abdullahi, Fransisca Cassa

[OPINION] Are sports abandoned from campus?

                                                                   Student play snooker at the JCR

When we walked around the campus to find out what most students do during leisure time, I was surprised to hear things like: watching movies, sleeping, listening to music and many other things. But sports were not one of them. Even though it is an obvious choice to spend your free time this way. I am sad to see that sports do not exist in my school.

We from the Sports desk went around campus to interview students on this important, but missing piece in campus life. Some of the answers surprised us. A L300 Computer Science student, Bello Nana Kwame, said he has been on campus for nearly three years but he rarely hears about the subject of sports. He thinks that the school shows no interest in sports. “They are only concerned about the academic welfare of the students,” he said.

We visited the Junior Common Room (JCR), a facility on campus for leisure time activities. To our surprise the place was almost empty. It even looked not well kept and not well managed. For instance the pool table was used as a sitting place. Some students we met there expressed a strong desire in sports, but the facility for that does not catch their interest. "We are only here because our lectures have not yet started and we want to kill some time,” one of them said. The JCR looks very small to the students.

The findings of our Sports desk disappointed us. We wonder why the administration is so focused on academics and leaving out the physical exercise. Why do they make sports seem so unattractive? Wisconsin could thrive in sports and have one of the best teams in the country. We crave for that! Do you as a student crave with us?

Sports Desk Reporters: Sani Usman, Emmanuel Hazard

[INTERVIEW] Career tip from Ms. Ngozi: ‘Know Yourself!’

Miss Blessing Ngozi, the Junior Assistant Registrar at the department for Human Resource, sat down with the WizzBuzzBlog to talk about post-college experiences and what to do when going for a job interview. She has a first and second degree in Business Studies and Human Resource Management. Ngozi likes to talk to students and to help them with their career choices. It made her setting up a career center on campus. She has already counseled numerous students in and outside Wisconsin.

What are some of the common questions students ask when they come to see you?

“Many students are really in school just to be in school. They do not know what they want to do with their degrees after they are done. They are basically clueless. So what I always say is: ‘Know yourself’. We do a career anchor test to find out what kind of person you are. For instance, if you are somebody who is service-oriented, we would know and we would find them working in places like the ministries or nursery. Service-oriented students want to take care of people.”

What should we do when we go for a job interview?

“First of all you need to do a proper research to know everything about the company you want to work for. The interview entails more than sitting in front of a panel. You have to make a perfect first impression. The way you talk to the person you will meet at the front desk and the way you interact with your fellow interviewees, all of that matters. Make sure the CV you send is you, because it is a reflection of who you are on paper. Do not lie because every question you are going to be asked, will be based on your CV. Also, there should be no grammatical or informational errors. Read your CV before you send it. A job interview is a conversation. If you keep them interested, they would want to see you again.”

How should we look when we go for a job interview?

“In terms of dressing I would say there is nothing wrong with playing at the right side of caution. For the guys, you can wear a nice shirt. Well-tacked in and ironed. Do not wear loud colors. White and a light shade of blue are accepted and safe colors. You should also wear a neat pair of well-polished black shoes. The trick is to look sharp and dapper than usual. For the ladies: no loud make up, but a minimal of or no jewelry at all. If you have double pierced your ears, it is safe to take one out. Your hair should be neatly done. Play it safe with your colors as well. Do not go looking like a peacock and do not wear heels you cannot walk on. Always keep it simple and go with your best self!”

Career Desk Reporters: Dorcas Kumah, Nana Kwaku Tanoh Kyeremeh, Daniella Baafi-Boateng

Students disappointed and frustrated about no access to grades

Students have expressed their disappointment and frustration about the online portal on the computer that currently gives no access to their grades. Since school has resumed in September the portal has been blocked. This makes it difficult for students to find out what their grades are and if there have been any unexpected changes in their results.

Early this semester, when students from various departments (Law, Communication, Nursing and Business School) came back for school, some of their grades had even been changed. For instance, in one case a “C+” changed to a “B” and later back to “C+”. In another case a “C” changed into a “B”. Other people, who had done an exam, got a “X”. That is a sign for absenteeism.

The blocking of the online portal and the unexpected changes in the results created a lot of discomforts among the students. ‘’How do authorities expect our parents to pay our fees when we cannot show them our results!?’’ said L200 Communication student Nana Kwaku Tanoh Kyeremeh, spilling out his frustration.

Efforts to seek clarification from the office of Public Affairs and the Registrar have been futile. Only a spokesperson from the Information Technology department (IT) was willing to explain that there is a technical error and the department is doing their best to solve the problem.

                                                 [Interview with SRC PRO, Greg Hoskey]

Public Relations Officer for the Student Representative Council, Gregory Hockey, described the situation as “very worrying” and confirmed that the authorities on campus are working around the clock to clear out the situation. They are working together with the mentor University of Cape Coast, to ensure proper grades for all the students.

Hard News Desk Reporters: Nana Kwame Okyere Larbi, Jemilatu Aryee, Samuel Konu And Keziah Odame.

About Us

WizzBuzzBlog is a new blog created by Level 200 Online Journalism students at Wisconsin International University College, Ghana.

The WizzBuzzBlog is created to inform the students and staff about recent happenings on campus. It could concern education, entertainment, sports, lifestyle and culture. This blog will help students to stay updated.

We invite students and staff to read and comment on our articles. You can also follow us on social media: Instagram: @WizzBuzzBlog, Twitter: @WizzBuzzBlog, Facebook: Wizz Buzz Blog or mail us  wizzbuzzblog@gmail.com. Get the facts, let’s interact!