The News; Duke Marine Lab

            I am in Beaufort, North Carolina, which is a part of Carteret County. The news sources here are very similar to what can be found back in Meadville. The New York Times is the major international source for news. One can also look to state and county newspapers and then local town specific ones for information. Throughout this past week, February 7th - 14th, I read headlines and articles from the New York Times, the News and Observers, and WITN Carteret County.

            The local news tended to focus on what's happening in town mentioning minimal ideological or national issues. The other two sources have been reporting headlines on the national elections but it's interesting to see the frequency and the different stories they choose to represent. The News and Observer has less articles dedicated to the elections but has paid attention to local elections such as the race for NC Superintendent of Public Schools. The Times has been relaying on goings of debates and the successes and failures of each candidate. The News and Observer has as well but its not as regularly or as in-depth. They also had an interesting article, "How will Christians vote in the presidential election? It depends." It highlighted the cultural differences within this religious group and that those variances lead to different issues having priorities to each member. Although, certain comments such as " But the truth is that churchgoers on both the right and the left are notorious for emphasizing biblical passages they like and ignoring those they don’t" used to describe how issues worth voting for are chosen shows the bias of this article and how the author feels towards 'churchgoers' as a whole. It was interesting to see how this newspaper chose to discuss the election and the group it chose to focus on different to an international source.

             In comparison to the Allegheny community it's difficult to know the interest and investment of my peers and professors. Classes here are in a block schedule so the structure of lecture is one topic studied intensely for three to four weeks. Not much other is discussed, for the class I'm currently taking. I have also been away for three of the four weeks I've officially been a duke student so it has been challenging to get a grasp of any beliefs and views of my surrounding community. As my time at the Marine Lab continues, and I become more integrated into the community I believe the interest in global and domestic affairs will be similar to Allegheny. They are both small towns and communities building a bases off education. In my last blog I talked about how one resident of the Marine Lab for over seven years described Beaufort as a marine science focused and fishery based community. The issues that are going to be most pertinent and discussed here are probably going to be those that impact the interests of this town.