Audio Prof Makes Change by Making Do

Armed only with elbow grease, a Loews account, and a dearth of funds, Professor Robert Fair and his audio students have delivered vast improvements to the department’s mixing and mastering suite over the last few weeks.

AU has an audio program certified by Protools, the standard software for professional studios. However, the university leaves professors struggling to create facilities resembling what students will encounter in the professional world, said Fair. A lack of funding meant that Fair and his students had to come up with low cost ways to improve the suite, which is where students mix music recorded in the room next door.

“We’re the stepchild they keep in the basement,” said Fair of the audio program, which operates primarily out of a set of small basement rooms in McKinley. One of the major problems facing students is the poor acoustic quality of McKinley 6, the location of the suite.

The room design of the original suite was identical to the other rooms in the basement of McKinley- complete with linoleum floors and cinder-block walls. Fair said that the best audio is created in a room that minimizes echo and sound reverberations, the exact opposite effect as that created by the existing space.

“The sound quality was abysmal,” said junior Cameron Conway. Conway is among six students who have a class on sound mixing for which they use the studio. “And you really need good acoustics for that class. Mixing and mastering is about a third of what you can do with audio production, so you really need to have a good set up.”

Because of rules forbidding him from attaching anything to the walls, Fair and his students built a set of “gobos”- free standing units designed to absorb sound. The gobos are long sheets of plywood that Fair has covered with industry-quality sound panels that he pulled out of storage and burlap that he bought on sale over the internet.

The gobos are also portable, so that when the Audio Tech department moves from McKinley to Kreeger sometime in the next 18 months, the units can be easily carried.

Fair also bought inexpensive carpeting to cover the linoleum floors.

Another major problem with the facility was the lack of equipment. In an effort to give students more experience with studio-quality equipment, Fair pulled an old, broken equalizer out of storage (which he referred to as “the morgue”) and has been repairing it with materials brought from home or bought at Loews or on the internet.

In addition, Fair pulled a second set of speakers out of storage to allow students to hear how their work sounds on consumer speakers as opposed to professional quality.

“The first thing they’ll ask in a studio is, ‘what have you used?’” said Fair. “I want to create real world scenarios that’ll help students find jobs.”

Fair estimates that the room still needs about $7,000 worth of equipment to resemble a professional setting, which he says is necessary to make the most of the school’s existing professional equipment.

“We have a car but we have no tires,” said Fair of the school’s studio equipment. Fair said that the existing studio equipment is less effective in simulating a professional studio environment when combined with other out-of-date equipment and put into a building with such poor acoustic quality. He added that improvements to the equipment currently come largely from student lab fees.

Fair added that AU’s audio program could potentially become one of the best on the East Coast.

The program, which used to be part of the physics department and is now part of performing arts, is slated to move into a remodeled Kreeger in Fall of 2009, but Fair says he expects it to be closer to Fall of 2010, and that, in the meantime, the program needs funds for its existing equipment.

Fair’s update to the studio has already made a huge difference in the quality. The gobos reduce the amount of echo from that found in other rooms of the McKinley basement to levels much closer to that in a professional studio. Fair, who also works for organizations such as the Discovery channel outside of his work as a professor, said

The program, which was started in the late seventies, has seen a fifteen percent increase in enrollment each of the last two years.

Twins Travel from San Jose to See Obama

           

 The minute Obama was elected and these 32 year-old identical twins saw people going crazy in Chicago, they had to come to Washington to see Obama inaugurated. 

            “Seeing all the people in the Chicago park, seeing all the people in Kenya, Japan, and Israel rejoicing… for the first time in a long time you were proud to be an American… it felt like we finally did something right,” said Aimee. 

            Sarah and Aimee Wright, sporting home made hooded sweatshirts with ironed on “Carrot Tops for Obama” made the long trip from San Jose, Calif. in order to be a part of the craziness that they saw on television when Obama was elected. 

            The twins started booking their flights and contacting people they knew in Washington for inauguration weekend the week after the election.  They came a week before the inauguration with plans to go to the concert on the mall and stay on the east coast to do some sight seeing afterwards. 

            A class blog set up by the twins started as a way to record their trip and show Sarah’s third grade students back at home all the action in DC.  The twins shared the blog with their friends and family and it spread from there.

            Once here, the girls rented bikes from their uncle’s shop, Revolution Cycles in Clarendon and stayed with a close family friend from California who is a student at American University. 

            They woke before five a.m. to ride their bikes down Massachusetts Avenue, continued on the Capital Crescent Trail to K Street and then to 16^th Street all the way to the WABA bike valets at the National Mall.

            The Wright’s friend delivered them seated tickets to the swearing in at midnight of the 20^th.  Sarah said, “It felt like the night before Christmas when you’re a kid, you know something big is going to happen the next day and you can’t sleep.” 

            When asked to sum up the day in a phrase, Sarah said, “a hodgepodge of emotions… running on adrenaline rush to get there, engulfed in mob world, stressed, relaxed when you finally find your seat, go to the bathroom, mob again, I even almost cried.” 

            Aimee found the day to be sort of surreal.  She said, “America is the greatest place on earth yet we are still delayed.  Other countries have women presidents and minority presidents.  On one hand, we are the greatest country.  On the other hand, we are so far behind.”

 

Sarah and Aimee Wright, Age: 32

Hometown: San Jose, CA

Blog Address: marshalllaneroom8.blogspot.com

The Forgotten

Much of America was focused on Barack Obama during the Inauguration but for a select few their attention was on the American people.
Members of the military and law enforcement seemed to be forgotten in the chaos. In awe of the whole spectacle many seemed to not even notice them. Just like civilians the Inauguration is a once in a lifetime event for them too.
For Spc. Matthew Scotty, a member of the 153rd Police Company of the Delaware National Guard, it was particularly special with his unit just finishing a tour in Iraq. They have the unique opportunity of protecting our country as well as our Commander and Chief from near and afar.
“This is definitely an important event,” Scotty said about the Inauguration. “Its nice to be here or apart of it at least.”
While Scotty wasn’t able to see the actual Inauguration he understood the importance of his job. With Barack Obama’s wide support and high approval ratings many predicted the crowds would be record breaking. The 1.9 million people the Washington Post said attended amazed him.
“The amount of people just from what I saw was insane,” Scotty said. “I’ve never seen that many people show up for an event like that.”
While Scotty has never done a tour like this inside the United States before, the 153rd has. The unit as a whole has participated in Hurricane Katrina, Operation Roving Sands in Texas and Operation Jumpstart in Arizona. With vast prior experience the veteran regiment was prepared to handle anything the Inauguration could throw at it.
Scotty was positioned at the intersection of Connecticut Ave. and K Street for the day. He and three other members of his unit were in charge of the crowd before the Inauguration and traffic flow after. Other members of his Company were scattered throughout the National Mall.
The Inauguration was the center of attention for much of the world and as a result created a security nightmare. While protecting against a terrorist attack was law enforcements primary goal it was not their only one. The general well being of the spectators was also important. As a result thousands of National Guardsmen and Police Officers from across the nation were called upon.
Law enforcement got lots of cooperation from on lookers, as there were no Inauguration related arrests. While seemingly unnoticed Spc. Scotty and the other members of the security staff fulfilled their duty perfectly. It is impossible to know what the event would have been like without them but thankfully we wont have to.

A Time of Change!

What's Your Nitch

At College, it’s all about finding your “nitch”. With so much constant hysteria, belonging to something that brings you immediate happiness can make all the difference.

Coming to college is like entering into another world. Meeting new people, seeing new things, and even hearing new ideas, it’s hard to fit in right away.

American University is no exception. Ranked among the top politically active schools in the nation, people from across the seas or across the country have been forced to discover themselves in a way they never have before.

“There’s a lot of different…interesting people”, says Lauren Heinz, an American University student. But her slight hesitation quickly fades away as she finally comes to the conclusion, “But I like it here”.

A conservative girl from Long Island, Heinz says that it definitely was an awakening to see such a liberal campus. “Everyone was the same on Long Island. We all dressed the same, and for the most part thought the same, but American forces you to think about what you like”.

Getting involved has helped ease the transition for Heinz. Cheering and Club Gymnastics at AU both help bring a happiness she found on Long Island to AU as well.

“There is definitely not as much spirit here”, says Heinz. “But we have definitely seen an increase from last year…well at least at the boy basketball team that is.”

Last year the Boys American University Basketball Team made its debut at the NCAA after finishing in first place in the Patriot League. It was an exciting time for everyone at AU, bringing a whole new sort of spirit to be revealed.

But the men’s basketball team isn’t the only one worth cheering for anymore, as the cheerleaders themselves head into the spotlight. “We are even competing this year for the first time in AU history”, Heinz says of the AU Cheer Squad.

“I’ve definitely changed a lot since I came to AU. I didn’t even realize how much I liked D.C. until I came here”.

Happiness it out there, we just have to find it. And with this happiness comes a whole new way of life.

New Day for PDA

President Barack Obama was sworn into office on Tuesday January 20^th and Dan O’Neal couldn’t be happier.

“He’s a rockstar. He’s a great speaker. He’s smart. He’s intelligent. He’s surrounded himself with good people,” said O’Neal.

The resident of Gilbert, Ariz. flew to Washington D.C. with the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) to take part of the historic inauguration of the 44^th president. O’Neal works for the PDA as the Arizona State Coordinator where he “oversees the chapters and the point people and the legislative stuff.”

The grassroots organization founded in 2004 aims to revitalize the Democratic Party by seeing to it that the government is “controlled by citizens, not corporate elites -- with policies that serve the broad public interest, not just private interests,” PDA’s website explains.

O’Neal came with the PDA for a national leadership conference involving congressmen and other political action committees such as Code Pink.

“It’s been an amazing turn out of democrats and progressives,” said O’Neal. “We brought together congressmen and activists and we solidified our support with the progressive caucus in congress.”

The PDA’s campaign slogan “Healthcare Not Warfare,” says it best. O’Neal and the PDA hope to see the change President Obama promised by pulling U.S. military troops out of Iraq and to “redirect the resources toward human needs including a new national healthcare plan,” explains O’Neal.

“We can take the billions of dollars we’re spending in Iraq and move it into social needs,” said O’Neal. “We can turn this country around.”

The 60 year-old knows the newly elected president has a lot of work to do. “I don’t envy him because it’s a big task especially with the economy the way it is, the worst since the depression, so he’s got a lot on his plate,” said O’Neal, “but I think its going to be an opportunity where we can start again.”

Holding a sign that read “Arrest Bush,” O’Neal walked the streets near the White House with a big grin on his face. The democratic activist is excited for a regime change and for former President Bush to leave office.

“The fact that a half hour ago George Bush left and Barack Obama is in, that makes it real special for me,” said O’Neal. “We’re having a great time. It’s a new day.”