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Go ahead and dumb yourself down

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No one ever claimed that watching the Bravo or E! channels on TV would make you smarter, or even more culturally aware. But, I would have to argue that watching some of my regularly-programmed guilty pleasures has enriched my life.

As a newly-declared Media Studies minor, one of the questions often posed to me and my classmates is whether today's media is helping us become more knowledgeable or just "dumbing down" society. Of course I cannot explain the appeal of watching inherently-scripted reality shows such as The Real Housewives to my grandmother, but nevertheless, they keep me coming back for more.\nYou see, in my grandmother's day and age, she was the housewife, minus the high school drama and Botox. TV programming was expected to be simple: nothing too out-of-the-box, risqu

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As this year’s newest Meriwether Lewis fellows wrap up their summer session, Julie Caruccio, a MLI director and assistant vice president for research on the student experience, discusses the goals of the fellowship. Caruccio shares the history of the program and how it has evolved to continue to fit students' needs and expectations. Additionally, she describes the cohort’s summer project, where they were tasked with finding ways to build connectivity and foster relationships between people in various areas across Grounds.