Deadline assignment:
In groups, to be assigned:
• Interview at least two people EACH, IN PERSON Ask them an initial question on the topic to be determined. Develop a few follow-up questions and engage them in conversation for a few minutes, so you have a meaningful exchange.
• Write down exact quotes, but be prepared to paraphrase most of their responses and just pick the best one or two sentences to directly quote.
• Ask how to spell their names. (Double-check that you wrote it down correctly using UMass.edu Peoplefinder.) Ask them where they are from and what their majors are.
• Try to interview a diverse bunch of people – different majors, different hometowns, different nationalities, gender and race etc
• Ask if you can snap a photo. Use your people skills to encourage them to say yes.
• When the group re-convenes in the computer lab, talk about the responses everyone got. See if you can make some kind of assertion in your lead BASED ON YOUR REPORTING.
That is, you will probably have some kind of guiding ideas about, for instance, if you were doing a story about what seniors are going to do when graduate whether seniors are likely to know what they are going to do after they graduate.
But DON’T write a lead based on speculation, and DON’T write a generic, non-reported lead like, for instance: As graduation approaches, college seniors face the daunting prospect of figuring out what to do with the rest of their lives.
Instead, review all the responses you got and SYNTHESIZE some of the information. For instance, if you interview 10 people and 8 say they have a job, while 2 say they are going to decide what to do next and where to go the day after graduation, you could say something like: Some UMass seniors have already lined up jobs after graduation, which is a mere six weeks away, but a few are waiting until the day after the graduation festivities to decide their next move.
• After the lead, include a nutgraph saying about how many people were interviewed and characterize the range of their responses. In the body of the paper, mention each of the people you interviewed in a paragraph dedicated to him or her.
• Include photos and post on blog.
It would be great to submit one or more to the Collegian or Amherst Wire!
Example:
Summer Curtin
Moose Chaudhry
Ryan Coterie
Have We Fallen Out of Love with Valentine’s Day?
Valentine’s Day may be known for candies, roses, and candlelit dinners spent with that special someone, but to a significant amount of UMass students, this past Tuesday was just another cold winter day filled with classes.
It seems as though the feeling was more passive than passionate this year, especially to the students who spent the day single.
“I don’t celebrate it because I don’t have anybody to love,” said Becca Demedeiros, a junior animal science major from Fairhaven, rather solemnly.
The general sentiment at UMass does not appear to be one of passion, but of apathy. While there were some who opted for a hopeful night out with friends, the vast majority instead went for the bare minimum, and either got small gifts if they were seeing someone, or simply did nothing at all. In the era of hook-ups and casual affairs, the love may be lost, and it seems as though UMass students have dumped Valentine’s Day.
Those who did not partake in the holiday opted for a far different kind of Valentine’s Day than expected. Some were surrounded by chocolates and flowers, while others, like S., opted for other special treats; the marijuana edibles she made with her friends.
S. spent the day with her closest friends getting high. She does not celebrate Valentine’s Day, and even considers herself to be “anti-Valentine.”
“I won’t support a day for love when we should be celebrating love every single day, not just one day in February out of the entire year,” she said.
One of those friends getting high with her had a similar sentiment on the romantic holiday. “I spent the whole day high,” said M. M. considers herself “anti-Valentine “There’s just no point to be honest,” she said.
“I don’t see the point in spending a ton of money on commercial products and chocolates when we could be spending money on more important things to help society,” S said.
Other students see Valentine’s Day as a capitalist scheme as well.
The idea that big businesses and corporations flourish off the purchase of cards and flowers seems too shallow to some people, and often times is the source that turns them away from celebrating this day at all.
Muntaha Elsir, who perhaps rather ironically was campaigning at a heart covered table, filled with free donuts, was blatant about her feelings toward the idea of Valentine’s Day. “I think it’s stupid. I don’t celebrate it because it is purely based off capitalism, not love,” she said.
Elsir (left) sits at a campaigning table in the Student Center
Valentine’s Day comes across as forced for some, and becomes a holiday where expectations are at an all time to high to spoil their significant other.
“In my past relationships it’s been kind of chill,” said Dianna Sorto, a UMass student. She also noted that she spent this past Tuesday in an exam.
Sorto’s boyfriend, Anthony Tejada, a kinesiology major from Somerville sat across from her. “I just go along with it,” he said. “I just gave her some flowers and candy.”
Tejada explains the passiveness of the Holiday. “I think it’s just expected that you have to get them a small gift. It is what it is,” Tejada said.
Donna Sorto (left) and Michael Tejada (right) sit for lunch at Blue Wall
As Valentine’s Day continues to be commercialized, many think the day has lost its luster. However, there are still those out there looking for a romantic rendezvous. Student Erica Luttazi, from Franklin, has not given up on the day just yet.
“It is a bit overdone, but I still went out though.” Luttazi attended a Frat party on Feb. 14 Although this might not be the most ideal place to look for true romantic love, she still gave it the good old college try.
In-class blog assignment:
You may choose to post them on your joint blogs too.
Assignment: Interview a classmate about his or her home town. Get a basic feel for the city/town. For instance, how big approximately? Urban or rural? What is it known for? How do people there describe it? How is it described by outsiders?
It's about your subject's town but also about how growing up in that city/town helped shape your subject.
Make it personal. Ask your subject to recall a moment he or she may recall when he/she reflected on the nature of the town. Did he or she always want to leave there? Does he/she want to go back?
Identify some QUOTEWORTHY quotes. Don’t just throw the quotes in. INTRODUCE them.
Look for specific, concrete, colorful details. AVOID clichés. Think about every word. Think about the tone etc.
Include a photo, unless your subject is opposed to it. Be sure to credit the person who took the photo or mention where it came from.
Write for a general audience of readers who may not be familiar with some of the places or expressions you use. Write in third person. Keep the reporter out of the story.
Spell check. Proofread. Post it!
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SPEECH PAPER ESSENTIALS (750 words)
1) The lead should get to the heart of the event -- NOT just say it occurred.
2) Include in the first few sentences of the story A)what the occasion was, B)who sponsored it, C) where it was held and –D) how many attended. Include the title if there is one. It’s not necessarily to cram in every detail, such as what time it was held.
3) Nutgraph: This takes the reader beyond the lead and sums up in a few sentences the major points the speaker made or the basic gist of his/her argument/case/presentation. It’s a roadmap to the rest of the story. Can be combined with the paragraph that includes the title, name of occasion etc.
4) Body of story: Take the reader through the points that the speaker made in support of his or her case/main point/argument/presentation. Each paragraph should have a strong topic sentence. Provide specific examples and direct quotes.
5) Interview 3-4 people who attended for their reaction/thoughts. Don’t forget to include this at the end of your paper!
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Obituary deadline assignment:
Journ 300 Deadline ASSIGNMENT – Newspaper staff sometimes pre-write obituaries of famous people before they die, so that they will be able to quickly fill in the blanks and publish the famous persons’ obituaries soon after they die. Your assignment is to write a STANDARD FORMAT obituary of a famous person of your choice (young or old) and post by the end of class to the class blog.
- Research all the info you need to know online, such as date and place of birth, relatives, awards etc. As the blog is searchable by Google, DON’T say the person died. Substitute LIVED for died and for CAUSE of DEATH, substitute one or more of the things the person was celebrated for. For SURVIVORS substitute the words RELATIVES or LOVED ONES. Be sure to include all of the following information which is SUPPOSED to be in a standard obit.
- DON’T include the details which are NOT. Which of the following information is required in all obituaries? A) name, age, occupation and address of deceased B) Date and place of death C) Cause of death D) Date of birth and birthplace E) Survivors in the immediate family F) Friends G) Pets H) Memberships, military service I) Awards and achievements J) Height and weight K) funeral arrangements L) Where to send donations in the deceased's honor. M) pre-deceased spouses __________________________________________
Profiles
· The reader wants to know what makes your subject so unique or interesting that you want to write about him/her. Ask the other people you interview for your story to help you with this. For instance, the omelet lady is unique, because she 1) interacts with the students so closely, 2) keeps up a steady stream of banter, which not all DC employees do and 3) seems so proud of her job.
· Provide examples that illustrate/SHOW the qualities you think make your subject so interesting. So, SHOW the omelet lady talking to a particular student at a particular time about a particular subject. Don’t just sum up what she USUALLY talks about, or if you do ALSO add a PARTICULAR example. How do you show she is proud of her job? Ask her why she is. Mention that she has a Facebook page. (It turns out her husband started the FB page; interview him! Ask him if she has always been so invested in all of her jobs. Have them met a lot of people through her job? What does she say about it to him? Has she told him of any particularly memorable things that happened on the job? )
· Once you’ve established that this person is unique or otherwise interesting, ask questions about his or her background to discover things that LED to him/her being the interesting person he/she is. For instance, the basketball player SC is shown in his room amid a LOT of clothes, but it is apparent he keeps all his clothes well organized and that he takes care of them. *Ask him WHY he thinks he is neat? *Were his parents neat? *What did they do? *What kind of a house did he grow up in? *Does he value orderliness? If so, does he think it is because the value of it was ingrained in his childhood? Or is he neat because his childhood was kind of chaotic, for instance? *Ask him who has been a big influence in his life and why? *Can he remember any particular instances of this person helping or guiding him or any particular advice this person offered him? You don’t have to go on at great length about his in the piece. Just a couple of sentences would help us “picture” the subject and where he came from.
· Ask some “evergreen” questions that will help you paint a multi-dimensional picture of your subject that goes beyond the main thing you’re concentrating on in the piece. For instance, Angela McMahon is a lacrosse coach at UMass where she once was a player. She is well-respected by her players for her strong work ethic. Ask what else she does besides lacrosse? Does she bring this strong work ethic to everything she does, would she say? (Maybe she’ll say she’s got a dog, but she’s totally undisciplined when it comes to training her dog and she lets the dog run all over the house and knock things over, for instance.) Where does she think she got this strong work ethic she brings to coaching lacrosse? When did she first start playing lacrosse? Was it her first choice of a sport to play? Did someone encourage her? How?
A couple of examples:
“At the beginning of class Lamb walks over to her desk – her gait is punctuated by a preference for her right leg – and places what looks like thousands of paper down with a thud. She eases herself up onto the desk and it momentarily tilts forward and supports Lamb with only two pegs. She doesn notice, pounding the desk and calling out for “offerings for the gods.” – Araz
“When Keller was moved to Berkshire while Hampshire is renovated, she was excited that she got new omelet pans. But the excitement wore off quickly, as she had trouble adjusting to life at Berk. “The stir fry lad who has my space after me always comes over and tells me she has to start at 11, but I end at 11!” said Keller in frustration to a group of students. – Shannon _____________________________________________________
Features
Describes a group of people, place, event, subculture, trend or just about anything you can think of. Should be visual, with concrete, specific language, anecdotes and examples and a lively mix of voices. 1,000 words• Write your feature with the idea that you will try to get it published. Don’t include material that will appear “dated” or as if it’s “old news” a few weeks from now. If your feature is about an event that is coming up, mention the date and time of the event high in the story.
• Do NOT lead with a sweeping, unreported generalization; plunge right into the reported material
• Describe/SHOW vs. Tell
• The more reporting, the better. You can’t make up for a lack of reporting by trying to write cleverly. You need several voices, so that you’re not going back to the same source for more than a couple or so paragraphs. Every page should have a lively, dynamic mix of voices – not just one person!
• Eliminate wordiness! Do NOT repeat anything!!
• Paraphrase or rewrite rather than using parentheses/brackets. You should only need to use parentheses once or twice a year – NOT once or twice in a single paper.
• Keep quotes short so that they have a greater impact. Paraphrase!!
• Don’t jam together, spliced by a comma, two complete and unrelated sentences. For instance, don’t say something like, “Wearing her black moccasins, Jane Doe is a graduate of UMass.” Avoid getting into traps like this by using SVO.
Examples:
Aviva – “Wires, computer chips and various other electronic parts cluttered the nearly empty UNOCCUPIED? rows of workstations in the basement laboratoryGOOD SPECIFIC LOCATION; ESTABLISHES THE PLACE WHERE THIS SCENE TRANSPIRED of Marcus Hall at UMass Amherst on a recent Thursday evening.GOOD – PLACES THE SCENE IN TIME Among the mishmash of components and equipment GOOD VISUALS; AS THOUGH THE STUDENTS ARE OUTSIZED BY THE EQUIPMENT sat four students, focused intently on the prototype in front of them.GOOD VISUAL With their April 8 deadline looming, GOOD PLACES THIS IN TIME; ESTABLISHES THAT THIS IS CURRENT, NEWSWORTHYthe group was making the final adjustments to their Senior Design Project – a football helmet fitted with a real-time concussion analyzer.” IF IT WERE A MOVIE, THE CAMERA WOULD NOW ZOOM IN ON THE OBJECT AT THE CENTER OF THE STORY
Jason: Max Nowak pauses in front of a door, DOOR IS SPECIFIC, CONCRETE, VISUALloud music and shrieking voices emitting from the room. He bangs on the door and says, “RA’s on duty!” The room plunges into silence as a nervous resident cracks open the door. CHEERFUL TONE Nowak reminds him of quiet hours and recommends that everyone calm down. It’s just a warning – for now. INTRO PLUNGES US INTO THE ACTION/SCENE
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Issue pieces
· The issue paper is a serious, “data-driven” piece. It does not include the reporter’s opinion and it should not include any unreported generalizations. The sources in your paper describe their experiences with the issue while the experts analyze the issue, cite studies/data and potentially suggest solutions.
For instance, in a story slated to be published in advance of the new smoking ban going into effect in July 2013, the issue is that a ban goes into effect in July. It was enacted by the Faculty Senate and students were not given a vote. Some students are against the ban and question whether it is goes too far in the effort to regulate behavior. Others question how it will be enforced. Good sources are student and faculty both for and against the ban as well as faculty who voted for the ban. Health Services staff charged with implementing it are experts on the subject of what the plans are to enforce the ban. Professor of public health are experts on the health effects of smoking. They can also speak on public health policy –how other bans like this one have worked and what the challenges are. Students and faculty who are for or against the ban but don’t have any information about how it will be enforced or any expertise in public health may be good sources; they are NOT expert sources.
· The lead does not consist of unreported generalizations. Don’t back your way into the lead, dive into it. Ask yourself what was the single most important thing you learned about the subject in the course of your reporting. That should be your lead.
*For example, in a paper about the changes to the football team’s status and the fact that they were playing in Gillette stadium in 2012 which made it harder for students to attend games, the lead should catch readers up on what is new in the ongoing saga that the new UMass president referred to in January as an annoying problem that he inherited. After the delivery in the lead of the very latest installment in the saga, the nutgraph should sum up briefly how UMass got to this point – the years-long debate about changing leagues and what the pros and cons of that would be; the decision to change leagues and take on all the logistics that would entail, whether some groups felt left out of the decision making process, how the change has played out so far. (Have there been more or fewer fans? More or less revenue? ) Nutgraph should end with an expert saying where he or she sees the football program going from here.
*In a paper about conflict between students and neighbors, the reporters talked to a neighbor who was frightened by the late-night disturbance she experienced 10 years ago and the problem is that despite all kinds of different efforts to address the situation it is still an issue 10 years later! In the delayed lead, the neighbor describes the incident from 10 years ago and says little has changed. It is based on reporting --NOT the reporters’ generic description of the issue.The nutgraph will sum up past and current efforts to address the problem an end with an observation about an expert about, why the problem is so hard to solve and/or what the expert thinks it will take to solve the problem.
· Put your strongest, most detailed/specific/concrete material high in the piece.
· Keep the paragraphs short. When you introduce another speaker, start a new paragraph
· Do not repeat anything. Each speaker should make a separate point. If four speakers all say, for instance, that they think the ZooMass reputation is an unexamined holdover from the 1970’s, don’t quote each of them saying this. You can say something like students and faculty interviewed agreed that the ZooMass reputation is a holdover from the 1970’s.
· Keep judgment out of the piece. Students who smoke in their rooms even though the second-hand smoke may be harmful to others may be thoughtless, uncaring people – but the reporter does NOT make judgments. The reporter can quote other people saying this, however.
Issue Paper By Lindsay Davis and Sophie Yingling
November 29, 2012
With word spreading of the alleged rape that occurred in a Southwest dormitory on Oct. 13, students like University of Massachusetts, Amherst, junior Megan Hatz, have overheard groups of people talking about the incident. "There is a common misconception that the victim deserved what happened to her because she was asking for it," she said.
What many UMass students may not realize is that there are resources on the UMass campus that offer support and education regarding the issue, especially the specific issue of blaming the victim.
Jill Grimaldi, instructional designer and educator at the Center for Women and Community at UMass, is responsible for creating and organizing presentations and workshops for students and survivors of violence in the five college CAPITALIZE FIVE COLLEGE area as well as the whole Hampshire County area. Grimaldi said, "Questions like this- such as, did the victim deserve it- are commonly asked in our society and they do real harm to survivors of sexual assault, causing them to feel guilt and shame around the crime that was committed against them. Our education aims to give people the tools to discuss sexual and relationship violence in a productive way, that leads to effective cultural change and does not hurt survivors."GOOD. NOW WE NEED TO HEAR WHAT SOME OF THESE TOOLS ARE
The Center for Women and Community, often referred to as the CWC, is an important organization at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as it is the only multicultural campus-based center at UMass that offers educational opportunities to the public to learn about sexual assault prevention and address problematical attitudes and behaviors about victims and survivors of violence.
Becky Lockwood, associate director of rape crisis services at the CWC oversees leadership opportunities, such as organizing awareness meetings, and promoting advocacy programs to help spread awareness about the cause and impact of sexism and the multiple oppressions experienced by women. According to Lockwood, addressing the attitudes towards rape has become a major issue at UMass and other college campuses because of the misconceptions about what constitutes a consensual sexual experience.
After the recent alleged rape case involving four men who attacked an intoxicated UMass freshman female student, UMass junior Hatz from Fayetteville-Manlius, N.Y, said that she heard a group of people saying that if the victim drank to the point that she didn't know what was going on, then it was her own fault. Hatz said, "Justifying rape or any kind of violence for that matter by blaming the victim isn't right."
Lockwood's take on the uneducated talk going on around campus is, "The case is becoming more a guessing game for students- trying to figure out who the victim is and how much she drank. No one is questioning if the four boys who attacked her were trying to get her drunk and take advantage."
These types of uneducated conversations (is) AREwhat the community education office at the CWC aims to change. The CWC puts together workshops that are led by educated volunteer facilitators and help spread awareness about rape within the community.
Lockwood said, "I think our culture today contributes to creating women and girls as a commodity. Everything from dumb blonde jokes to if a group of men whistles at a woman when she walks by."
Lockwood has worked at the CWC for 11 years, and for a while, said she felt like the Dean's office at UMass totally ignored talking about issues that definitely occur at UMass, including relationship violence, rape, and sex in general. Lockwood said, "I am happy to say that I am seeing a change in the attitudes of the administration staff. For a long time it felt like no one wanted to talk about it, because to talk about it is to acknowledge that it is happening on campus."INTERESTING
The CWC reaches out to students in hopes of changing the way the demographic responds to sexual attention. For example, Lockwood mentioned that many men in their early twenties will refer to having sex as "slamming, hitting it, or getting some," all terms that contribute to the idea of women becoming commodities, not people.S
Grimaldi said she is most passionate about what she considers to be the most effective of services at the CWC, which is the annual basic training within the residential life staff. The CWC works with campus dormitory security on issues related to sexual assault and relationship violence and provideS students, faculty, and staff serving on judicial boards trainings with the Dean's office and the University of Massachusetts Police Department.
UMass junior Emma Bound works as a security monitor in the Southwest dormitories on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Before starting work, Bound was required to attend a workshop with the CWC and UMass Police Department. It was during the session that Bound said she realized the significance of her position and the responsibilities she had.
Bound said the workshop taught her what to do in suspicious situations. “They brought to my attention something I see almost every night but never paid much attention to, like if a girl who is clearly intoxicated is trying to get into the dorm with a boy…it doesn’t hurt to remember their names, or to pay extra attention to their speech and the body language going on,” Bound said.
In these cases, Bound was instructed to report any POTENTIALLY TROUBLING(distrustful) behavior to nearby security guards or police OFFICERS(men), which are now placed in every Southwest dormitory on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 8 p.m to 2 a.m. “I know a lot of people get annoyed by the long process of trying to get into their own dorm, but I have personally seen the system prevent a lot of harm, like drunken strangers trying to get into the wrong dorm at night.”GOOD TO HEAR!
Outside of UMass, the CWC participates in a 5 collegeSPELL OUT AN CAPITALIZE FIVE COLLEGE group called the 5 College Sexual Assault Prevention & Intervention Committee. This segment of the CWC organization brings together educators and administrators from the 5 Colleges to discuss effective prevention and response strategies. “But it's most important to reach out directly to students who hear and talk about victim rape all the time,” Grimaldi said.
One of the most relevant things that the CWC educates people on is victim blaming. Lockwood said that "when a person begins to spread the thought process of wondering if the victim lead their attacker on, or questioning why the survivor was drunk and asking for it, this is where dangerous misconceptions develop that affect our culture."
The CWC offers a wide variety of diverse programming, including a teen counselor who offers support to student survivors through a program called the "Specialized Teen Services" program, and a more community based (educate )EDUCATIONAL service called the "Rural Educator Program" which brings education and resources to people living in the rural communities around Amherst, as well as a "Latina Educator" who offers the education offered at the CWC in Spanish to people in the Pioneer Valley.
Some tips for review writing
1) Don't waste the lead. It should make an assertion about the film. It may sum up in a sentence WHY, specifically, you recommend/don't recommend this video/movie.2) There should be a nutgraph that gives the reader a clear idea of where you are going in the review. It is the road map to the rest of the review.
3) In the body of the paper, describe some scenes and include a couple of pithy quotes.
4) Sum up the most important points in the movie/video. Write as if for readers who have NOT seen it.
5) A review is NOT a chronological plot summary, although you may briefly sum it up in a sentence or two.
6) As with any article, it should flow well, have well organized paragraphs with strong topic sentences/transitions and a clear, resonant ending.
Sample video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uCWwpvtt2I
"The High Five": http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=11253247
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