Name:  Danny Clemens

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: The Kane Show on Hot 99.5 (Clear Channel Media + Entertainment)

Major(s)/Minor(s): Media and Communication Studies

Expected Graduation Year: 2015

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service- learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

My day starts at 5:30am - the production staff and on-air talent all have to be ready to be on the air at 6am across the country so we arrive early to scour the web for topics to discuss on air and program promotional spots to air in different markets. During the show, we screen listeners who call in to participate in the show, produce daily podcasts for our website and edit show segments to be syndicated a replayed on iHeartRadio. We also have cameras in our studio that we operate; they stream the show live on the internet to give listeners an inside look into the show.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

I have the opportunity to work with ridiculously talented, hardworking and FUN people! We all aim to produce a show that is exciting and entertaining for our listeners and we can't help but have a great time in the process. I also enjoy getting to talk to people from all over the country who call in; everybody has a unique story to share and it's wonderful to have the opportunity to connect with so many fantastic listeners.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

I walked into this experience without any radio production experience; I was thrown in from day one and have learned so much about the broadcast industry in a short period of time. Working on such a high-profile program has been fantastic because we are driven to produce such high quality work; the stakes are high and it motivates me to be the best that I can be.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Put yourself out there! Your resume will only get you so far in this business - it's really about having a dynamic, outgoing personality and not being afraid to be yourself. Make an impression and don't let them forget you!

How do you see your experience as meaningful? This might involve skills you’ve gained, information you’ve learned, mentors you’ve connected with, or projects you’ve completed.

The networking in this business is insane; in addition to the radio personalities who I have the privilege of working with every day, I am always meeting people who are well-connected and influential in the broadcasting business. We also have a very dedicated fan base; we can ask for the most outlandish thing during a show and I guarantee you that at least one person will call in and be more than willing to help us out. There is always somebody who can help you out, you just have to know where to find them!

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation has reached a major milestone: receiving over 10,000 applications for the Fall 2014 entering freshmen class! This represents a 50% increase in applications in the last five years, and is the first time we’ve hit the 10,000 applications mark.

This milestone comes at a time when many institutions are experiencing declines in applications. Why the boost for UMBC? Yvette Mozie-Ross, associate provost for enrollment management, shares, “Very academically talented students increasingly identify UMBC as a top choice for a high quality, high value undergraduate education.”

“This increase in applications reflects how our reputation is becoming increasingly national,” says Dale Bittinger, director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation. “It also could not have happened without the hard work of an extremely dedicated staff in Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation, as well as our campus partners such as Institutional Advancement, Division of Information Technology, and all the faculty and staff who support our recruitment and yield efforts.”

Another chance to catch the most interesting, and important, articles from the previous week on MIT Technology Review.

A new guest column in Sabato’s Crystal Ball by Political Science Professor Thomas Schaller argues that future ratification of constitutional amendments will become increasingly unlikely as state legislatures and the national government become more divided.

Schaller writes as this year marks the centennial anniversary of the 17th Amendment, several former and current Republican members of Congress are moving to repeal the amendment, which mandates the popular election of U.S. Senators.

“Although the movement to repeal the 17th Amendment is likely to fizzle, the fact is plans to amend the Constitution are mostly a waste of time because, other than a widely popular and highly-unifying suggested change, it is probably almost impossible to ratify or even propose amendments in our highly-polarized nation and divided national government,” Schaller writes.

“The bottom line? America hasn’t adopted an amendment in the traditional, proposed-then-ratified-soon-thereafter fashion in more than 40 years, and it may be a long time before it happens again,” he adds.

To read the full column in Sabato’s Crystal Ball, click here.

An article published March 25 in the online magazine Slate examines the factors that cause humans to laugh. The story cites the work and research of Psychology Professor Robert Provine that helps explain why humans laugh.

“For his book, Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, Provine engaged in what he called ‘sidewalk neuroscience,’ tracking and observing real-world laughter,” the article states.

The authors write that Provine’s research helps illustrate the reasons human laugh usually aren’t in response to something that is humorous.

“Provine discovered that the laughter of our everyday lives isn’t for the most part in response to anything resembling jokes,” the authors note. “Instead, most of it occurs in conversations that, out of context, don’t seem funny at all. Provine’s discoveries suggest that laughter is inherently social, that at its core it’s a form of communication and not just a byproduct of finding something funny.”

To read the full article in Slate, click here. Provine was also interviewed about the same topic on “The Arlene Bynon Show” on Sirius XM radio. Additional coverage can be found on Salon.com by clicking here.