Issue

• 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. It presents a well-research, balanced overview of an issue of concern to the public with perspectives from experts in the field.
• The sources in your paper describe their experiences with the issue while the experts analyze the issue, cite studies/data  and potentially suggest solutions. 
• 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.   
•  The nutgraph may sum up efforts to address the issue and end with a quote from an expert on what could solve it     
•  The strongest, most detailed/specific/concrete material is high in the piece.
• Paragraphs are short and focused. When you introduce another speaker, start a new paragraph
• Do not repeat anything. Each speaker should make a separate point.
• The reporter does NOT make judgments but may quote other people judging

ISSUE EXAMPLE
Afton AndreadisIssue: Historical Preservation on Campus

With the recent $195 million construction of the Commonwealth Honors College, the $19 million renovation of the Blue Wall eatery, and the dozens of future projects the University of Massachusetts Amherst has in the works, it seems as though the institution is working by the old phrase: “out with the old, in with the new.”

However, the efforts of the university to preserve its original buildings are questioned by both students and faculty alike.

UMass Amherst first opened its doors in 1863 as the Massachusetts Agricultural College, or “Mass Aggie” as it was popularly referred to as. Located in the heart of Western Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, Mass Aggie’s main focus was to teach its students the fundamentals of agriculture, mechanical, and military arts. The original campus consisted of two dormitories: North and South College, as well as the Chemistry Lab, the Boarding House, the Durfee Plant House, and the Botanic Museum.

Now, none of these buildings remain. With the exception of the University Club, which is within the 1728 Stockbridge House, the Blaisdell House is the oldest remaining structure on campus. . Constructed in 1869 for the purpose of housing past farm managers, both this structure and its accompanying horse barn were moved to their present location on Commonwealth Avenue and are noticeably in decrepit condition. 

“I had no idea this was even a farming school,” said sophomore Andrew Ellis. “I have seen the barn before and I remember wondering why they’re just letting it rot like that,” Ellis said. 

According to Joseph Larson, professor emeritus of environmental conservation, throughout UMass’ campus there exists three “historic neighborhoods,” or clusters of buildings that are of historical significance to the campus. The first neighborhood is located behind the campus pond where the Old Chapel and South College stand. The next neighborhood is located to the north of the campus pond and consists of Draper Hall, Guessman Hall, Stockbridge Hall, and both Experiment Stations. The last neighborhood, Larson says, is the area in which Fernalld, French, and Wilder Hall Stand, along with what is now known as the Stockbridge House and the University Club. 

Shortly after Larson learned of these neighborhoods on the campus some years ago, he recalled taking a part in a meeting held by an administrative official. Larson said, “Through the course of that meeting, she said, ‘I don’t know why New Englanders are so interested in old buildings. Where I come from we tear them down and build new ones.’ And that got some of us pretty upset.” 

Upon hearing this and learning of future construction plans the university had slated,  Larson and 23 other faculty members and alumni began the organization “Preserve UMass” in 2007. The members of this organization began researching state laws that allocated for the preservation of historical buildings and found the university to not be abiding by the state regulations,  Larson said. Prior to deconstructing a historical building, the university is supposed to notify the Massachusetts Historical Commission of its plans, and the agency will determine if the building can in any way be saved from either demolition or any sort of construction damage. The university had never done that, according to Larson.

In its beginning efforts, Preserve UMass made a plea to the university to not allow for the demolition or radical renovation  of the older buildings until a historical expert had come in to determine which ones were worth maintaining and which ones were simply old. They found that every historical building was already on file by the Amherst Historical Commission, and they also had found the university had demolished many sites that had been listed on that record prior to 2007. 

After Preserve UMass “blew the whistle,” as Larson said, on the campus happenings, an inventory was created of 111 buildings on campus over 50 years and can be found on the Massachusetts Historical Commission website.  Now, upon any sort of construction on or around any building listed, university administration has to go through a series of steps in order to gain the OK to break ground on their projects. 

However, according to Larson, the final say on construction projects doesn’t always come from the university administration. In fact, it is almost always the contractors who give the final call to the university about construction projects, and rarely do they have the preservation of historical sites on their minds, Larson said. 

The university itself manages projects that go up to $2 million. For projects larger than $2 million, both the UMass Building Authority and the Division of Capital Asset Management, or DCAM manage the project. Projects that the Building Authority oversee are funded by bonds that the university trustees issue. If money comes from the state or the legislative appropriation, DCAM is in charge.

 “When it comes to historic buildings, they are really the worst of the three entities that get involved,” Larson said in regards to DCAM. Larson said that when it comes to which entity is actually in charge of campus building affairs, DCAM officially has the final say, with the university acting as a mere advisor to these decisions. 

According to Larson, DCAM will notify the Massachusetts Historical Commission after its projects have already begun. If the commission finds that DCAM is breaching historical law, the company will argue that it has already put in a large sum of money into the beginning stages of the project, and ultimately it will win the case. 

“That has happened enough to lead one to believe they are doing it on purpose,” Larson said. In effect, If the project is over $2 million dollars, the university has little to no say as to what will happen to the construction site. 

Professor Arnold Friedmann, professor emeritus of design in the department of art, architecture, and art history, is also a member of Preserve UMass and backs up Larson’s claims about DCAM’s motives. 

“Contactors, sometimes they do things and then say ‘Oh no, they didn’t mean it,” Friedmann said. 

Both Friedmann and Larson recall a historic weigh station that was located at the present day Integrative Learning Center, and both state that even though this station was on the list of important historical buildings on campus, contractors were quick to demolish it in its entirety. “I will not be surprised if they do this to the West Experiment Station as well,” Friedmann says. 

Currently, the West Experiment Station will be moved to a different location on the north side of campus to make room for a new science building. However, both Larson and Friedmann are not positive the historic site will be reconstructed at all. 

“There are groups of people on the campus who are interested as we are in preserving, there are those who don’t give a damn and there are those who are very opposed to it. Opposition usually comes from people who either don’t want to have somebody telling them what they can or can’t do, or they believe that if you want to get in the historical building it is going to be very expensive,” said Larson in regards to campus administration. 

Friedmann added that this is true, it is often more expensive to renovate buildings than to demolish and start fresh. However, many buildings, like once-standing Munson Hall Annex and the horse barn are purposely left to ruin because the university simply does not want the responsibility of their upkeep. 

Friedmann questions the legitimacy of many other campus projects and why so much money is being spent on attractions like the Blue Wall. (atery.) “I came in ’72 and since then I have seen five renovations of Blue Wall,” Friendmann said. 

With the negatives in campus historical recognition do come the positives, though. Chancellor Subbaswamy recently gave the green light on the Old Chapel gaining national recognition as a historical landmark. The chapel, which hasn’t been open to use since 1996, will receive a full interior renovation and will be used for meetings, small events, talks, and more. 

South College is currently being renovated into the new center for the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and will house a variety of departments within that field. As for the old horse barn, the university plans to relocate it and its accompanying Blaisdell House to the university’s farm on North Pleasant Street. The barn, even though its exterior is seemingly in dismay, is in stable enough condition that it will be able to be restored to its original purpose of housing both horses and an academic facility within its walls.