Stet Michigan Interscholastic Press Association November 2006Vol. 34, No. 1www.mipa.jrn.msu.edu

InsideIn My Opinion

3Workshop Review

5–12

Membership Form

13

Taylor McGowan of Clarkston HS took this photo at a local coffee shop during the MIPA Summer Journalism Workshop. She won a Sparty Award for

“Best Overall Portfolio” in her class, Shoot First, Photoshop Lat-er, which was taught by Brian Roberts.

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Stet

Stet is the official newsletter of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, an agency of the School of Journalism at Michigan State University. Stet is published four times a year by the MIPA executive director and MSU students.

Send letters to the editor and advertising inquiries to mipa@msu.edu. The MIPA Web site is maintained by Cheryl Pell.

Web site: www.mipa.jrn.msu.edu

MIPA305 Communication Arts BuildingMichigan State UniversityEast Lansing, MI 48824-1212

Phone: (517) 353-6761Fax: (517) 355-7710

President, Rod Satterthwaite, Dexter HS 1st Vice President, Jeremy Van Hof, Grand Ledge HS2nd Vice President, Sandra Strall, Carlson HSSecretary, Kim Kozian, L’Anse Creuse HS North Trustee, Nikki Schueller, North Farmington HSTrustee, Paula Pantano, Stevenson HSTrustee, Tim Morley, Inland Lakes HSNewspaper Chair, Julie Price, Haslett HSYearbook Chair, Lynn Strause, East Lansing HS Broadcast Chair, Diane Herder, Laingsburg HS Legislative Chair, Gloria Olman, retired, Utica HSWorkshop Chair, Betsy Pollard Rau, H.H. Dow HS Middle School Chair, Jenny Birmelin, Orchard Lake MSHall of Fame Chair, Jeff Nardone, Grosse Pointe South HS Executive Director, Cheryl Pell, Michigan State University MIPA Office, Penney Aiken & Amy Brandt, MSU students

Rod SatterthwaiteDexter HS

The President’s Column

Dec. 1, �006 InDesign/Photoshop Workshop

Dec. �, �006 Standards Meeting

Dec. 15, �006 Late fall yearbook deadline

Feb. 9, �007 SND Quick Course

Feb. 16, �007 Newspaper, video, yearbook deadlines

March 16, �007 Late newspaper, video deadline

April 17, �007 Spring Conference

That’s weird The words still haunt me every

time I hear someone talk about the terrorist attacks on September 11, not so much for what he said but for my reply: “Oh. That’s weird.”

That’s weird? That might be an appropriate

response to someone who just told you that they have a birthmark on their butt in the shape of Jesus. Or maybe you’d respond that way to someone who told you they were surprised when Lance Bass came out of the closet.

But looking back, it probably wasn’t the right response to Elijah, a quiet, serious student in my Introduction to Journalism class who told me, as he and the rest of the class watched the second plane fly in to second tower on that day that changed so much: “My aunt and my sister are flight attendants.”

But how could I have known, how could he have known, that not only was his sister a flight atten-dant, but she was a flight attendant that day on United Flight 175, the very flight that we’d watch slam in to the World Trade Center.

And so we sat and watched the tragedy unfold, not knowing that those planes which hit those build-ings 600 miles away, had struck uncomfortably close to home.

Go out and find the storyThe next hour was Newspaper

class, and as a staff we spent most of our time watching TV reports of the towers’ collapse, attacks at the Pentagon, a plane crash in rural Pennsylvania and the mandatory grounding of all airplanes. At the end of hour I remember turning off the TV and not knowing what to say to the class.

Did they need to be reassured that everything was going to be OK? The problem was, I wasn’t sure everything was going to be.

Did they need to be told that we’d catch and punish whoever did this? This seemed too simplistic.

So what I told them was some-thing like this: Today’s one of those ‘Where were you when’ days. For the rest of your life you’ll probably remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard about these attacks. But today’s more than that. Today’s a day for you, as journal-ists, to be the chroniclers of history for your generation. Today’s a day to tell the story of this disaster and what it means to you and your peers. Your job now is to go out and find these stories. Even in Dexter I’m sure there are people with connections to what happened

today in New York, Washington or Pennsylvania.

Before I knew Eli’s sister died that day, my focus was on encour-aging students to get the story. I wanted them to pursue any local angles they could find. I wanted them to ask people at school if any of them had connections to what happened that day. I wanted them to tell compelling stories about how this event affected them and their peers. In short, I wanted them to be journalists.

The problem was, and I’m kind of ashamed to admit this, I felt the same way even after I found out that Eli’s sister died that day. In fact, I might have felt it even more.

But that would change.

A private moment of griefEvery winter a science teacher,

Cheryl, and I take a group of seniors to New York for what is officially known as the Dexter Senior Fine Arts trip. We take stu-dents to Broadway shows, the Stat-ue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If it’s touristy, we cram it in to three sleepless days in the Big Apple.

And six months after the death of his sister, Eli’s parents signed

Please see PRESIDENT, page 14

Reflection on Sept. 11, �001

MIPA Officers �006-�007 MIPA CalendarAbout Stet

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November 2006 ■ �

ith all the “Googling,” “Facebooking” and “blogging” people do these days, it seems apparent how Ameri-

can society has grown accustomed to short and easily obtained answers (as well as the habit of making nouns found in Internet jargon into common-ly used verbs).

For instance, I am able to “Google” a timeline of Civil War battles, “Face-book” my best friend from the third grade and “blog” about my latest trav-els in under an hour.

So much of my everyday life from researching for a class to contacting a friend is now convenient, accelerated and space-saving due to the Internet. Yet, it also makes much of my life impersonal and superficial, filled with unnecessary obligatory e-mails and Web site referrals.

As a future high school journalism teacher, I have started to notice the impact of Internet usage in the way I receive my news, as well as how tech-nological standards can either be det-rimental or beneficial in my lesson plans.

During my time at college, I grew dependent on the Internet.

More specifically, I became used to reading online editions of newspa-pers. They are convenient, free most of the time—with Internet access—and do not take up a lot of space. They offer up-to-the-minute news alerts, live video feed and extensive photo galleries.

However, as I formulate possible lesson plans for journalism and Eng-lish classes, I find myself veering away from teaching what is my nor-mal practice in everyday life. I am rediscovering my original apprecia-

tion for newsprint because I have had to pinpoint the overall arching theme of all my lessons. I have had to look past all the flashy graphics, online polls and quick reads by revisiting the true purpose of the written word—communication.

My interest in journalism is based on that essential purpose. It sparked at home as a child, with my parents read-ing and later subscribing to numerous publications ranging from the Detroit Free Press and the Troy Observer & Eccentric to Reader’s Digest and Highlights Magazine.

My parents, as poor emigrants from the Philippines, read newspapers for free at the local public library in order to familiarize themselves with American society and the English lan-guage. As they saved money and moved from Detroit to the suburbs, I began to see newspapers and maga-zines appear at our door or in our mailbox. Although they watched TV news too, it was easier for them to comprehend English when reading the words, rather than listening to them.

As I recently recalled these memo-ries in reflection papers for other classes, I realized how scanning the Web version on a computer just doesn’t seem comparable to holding a publication in my hands.

It is easy to get lost in the enter-taining and seemingly convenient nature of the Internet and of technol-ogy in journalism as a whole. Yet as English Language Arts teachers and especially as journalism educators, it is our job to keep in mind what was—and still is—existent before the Web.

We, as teachers, must empower our students to focus on how to use their publication to communicate with and educate their readers.

IN MYOPINIONBy Agnes Soriano, Journalism Major, MSU

Agnes Soriano is a senior at MSU majoring in journalism education. She works at The State News as the assistant copy editor chief.

Love the Internet, but still need those publications

Betsy Pollard Rau, adviser at H.H. Dow HS in Midland, received the Midland Teacher of the Year Award from the Association of Retarded Citizens. Rau and her stu-dent, Amanda Brown, share a moment after the awards dinner. Brown takes photos for the Update staff. Two other staff members received recognition as well.

Winners all around

Sara-Beth O’Connor received a JEA Future Teacher Scholarship this fall. O’Connor is the first MSU student to win the $1,000 scholarship,

which is given yearly to outstand-ing students who are in

journalism education programs. An intern this year at Everett HS, O’Connor traveled to Nashville to receive her award.

Jane Briggs-Bunting, right, received a JEA Friend of Scholastic Journalism Award at the JEA/NSPA con-vention in Nashville. Briggs-Bunting won the award because of her tireless work to help students win their First Amendment rights.

Photo by Rachel Evans

Photo by Betsy Rau

Photo by Lydia Cadena

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Breckenridge adviser loves advising and her students

Dawn Landis analyzes photos from her students’ first photo lesson of the year. Landis has been advising the yearbook for six years.

By Agnes Soriano, MSU Student

F or Dawn Landis, a yearbook holds more memories than the pictures in it could ever show. As the journalism teacher for six years at Breckenridge High School, she has

produced a yearbook, as well as a few newspapers if time allows for it, each year with her class.

She said she is proud of her program because her staff also takes pride in what they do. Landis describes her class as if they were own children.

“I feed them to keep them motivated, I listen to their gripes about the world in general, and they lis-ten to mine,” she said.

Landis recalls a defining moment in her teaching career during the summer of 2005, when her students received second place for their theme development at the Herff Jones camp.

Last year, with the same book, they earned 21 individual awards from the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA).

“When my students shine, I beam!” Landis exclaimed.

In addition to her journalism class, she teaches Spanish and English. Landis said journalism is her favorite class of the day because of the bonds the students and her create with each other.

“Some of my students are with me for four years when they join the staff as a ninth grader,” she said.

Although she teaches one journalism class of 10 students, Landis said she strongly believes yearbook must be taught as a co-curricular rather an extra-cur-ricular. The amount of time involved outweighs the number of students in attendance.

“The grades are a way to keep the students accountable,” she said.

“I probably would not be able to get students to dedicate as much time if it weren’t for the grade they receive.”

Landis indicates how students take the class and sometimes even sign up for one more independent study section because they want more time during deadlines, despite already spending many hours after school working on their pages.

Students must maintain a B average or they will be asked to drop the class.

Producing her award-winning yearbook requires teamwork to also be a priority.

“We spend enough hours doing our own jobs, let alone taking up the slack for another staff member who fails to do their job,” Landis said. “So, every-one on staff must pull their weight.”

Her involvement in several profes-sional associations has contributed in getting her to where she is today as an adviser and has also benefited her stu-dents. She recommends joining the Journalism Education Association (JEA), National Scholastic Press Asso-ciation (NSPA) and MIPA. These organizations offer advice via list-serves, conferences and workshops.

Landis has attended camps with her students for several years, in addi-tion to actually teaching at them. For the first time, she plans to bring her students to the JEA/NSPA convention this fall in Nashville.

However, Landis also emphasized that she discovered one of her greatest resources as an adviser right in her own classroom—her students.

“Utilize your staff members’ knowl-edge to help you with mastering com-puter programs you may be unfamiliar with,” Landis said.

“I remember how much knowledge I absorbed my first year trying to mas-ter PageMaker and Photoshop.”

She continues teaching journalism because the students have as much passion for it as she does.

“Advising journalism is a joy because of the great kids I have doing the tremendously difficult but gratify-ing job of covering their year,” Landis said. “I can say without a doubt that my students love yearbook.

I love that they love it!”

Advising journalism is a joy because of the great kids I have doing the tremendously difficult but gratifying job of covering their year. —Dawn Landis, yearbook adviser, Breckenridge HS

ADvISeRWatch

‘‘ ‘‘Photo by Matt Myers

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Workshop revieWSummertime and the living was fun—at least if you were part of the three weeks of workshops offered by the MSU School of Journalism and MIPA. More than 600 people spent time on campus where they learned everything from column grids to column writing and a lot in between. Take a look . . .

SPecIaL RePORt

GettinG a Betsy Buck was a highlight for Luke Altomare, a workshop attendee from Dexter HS. Students receive Betsy Bucks and Chad Change throughout the week when they approach director Betsy Rau and assistant Chad Sanders and tell them something they learned that day or just say hi. They deposit their bucks in a box throughout the week and at the clos-ing students can win prizes. Altomare was a student in the Cartooning during the week and also received an Excellent Award.

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By Marilyn Klimek, Adviser, Niles HS

Linda Andrada never had so much fun in a class.The newspaper adviser at Lake Fenton High

School spent a week at Michigan State University in Betsy Pollard Rau’s advising class this past July.

“It really helped me evaluate what I’m doing,” said Andrada,

who traveled to Michigan State with her husband and two small daughters.

“My challenge is to be two people at once,” said Andrada of the fact that she has beginning and inter-mediate journalism students all in the same class at the same time.

For her part, Rau finds it refreshing and fun her-self to visit and teach other publications advisers dur-ing the summer at MSU.

“It has been my best year ever,” said Rau, who said she tailors the class to meet the particular needs of her students.

“We talked a lot about grading, downtime projects,” Rau said.

A publications adviser herself for 30 years, Rau is the newspaper adviser at H.H. Dow High School in Midland. The biggest change she has seen in her three decades-long career? One word: technology.

“Technology is huge,” said Rau. And to that end, Ike Lea spent a week teaching

Photoshop to a group of people who spanned in age from their mid 40s to 19. Some came from as far away from the Philippines while others hailed from the nearby Lansing area to attend class.

Lea, a Media Art and Information Technology professor at Lansing Community College, said he enjoyed instructing Photoshop this summer. He said his class was one of the best groups yet.

“I get to talk to the advisers,” he said. “It keeps me focused on, ‘Are we teaching the right things?’ ”

He noted he has inherited students from a few advisers, including Pam Bunka, a 28-year newspaper and yearbook adviser veteran at Fenton High School.

She found Lea’s class informative and an excel-lent way to brush up on her technology skills.

“I learned the things I wanted to learn,” she said, adding that keeping pace with technological upgrades is one of the biggest challenges with which a high school publications adviser encounters in their job.

Rau directed and Lea instructed during the high school journalism conference at MSU the first week

By emily Serkaian, Okemos HS

“Life is short,” Crystal Miller said. “What we do matters.”Miller was a 16-year-old junior at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999,

when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a shooting rampage in the school in Littleton, Colo. The event inspired Miller to take a look at her life, to change the way she lived.

A standard high school student, Miller was a three-sport athlete who did many things to fit in the so-called “in” crowd. “I was focused on my friends and the approval of my peers,” she said.

Miller partied and drank, and sometimes made fun of people just to fit in. But, at the end of that day, with 12 of her schoolmates and one of her teachers dead, Miller said it was time for a change.

Going to study for a test during lunch, Miller was “shocked” when Harris and Klebold burst into the library and began shooting. Ducking under the table, she experienced “the most intense fear,” knowing she might be living the last moments of her life. “At that moment,” she said. “I made some serious decisions.”

Miller’s life was spared. The table she had hid under was the only one untouched by Harris and Klebold. Her friend, Rachel Scott, was one of the students killed. Scott was a “voice for the voiceless,” kind, compassionate, always reaching out to those who seemed alone. Miller decided to model her life after Scott’s. She had been given a second chance, and she was determined to live her life differently. She began doing simple acts of kindness, such as holding a door or genuinely say-ing “thank you” to others. Miller hopes to reach out through these acts of compassion.

Not only has she changed her lifestyle, Miller has centered her career on sharing a message of hope and love. She participates in Rachel’s Challenge, a program that aims to bring positive change to communities. Miller also authored a book on her experiences, “Marked for Life,” which focuses on helping those who have experi-enced any kind of suffering to help turn it into a more positive experience.

Miller is grateful to be where she is today. She recognizes that her experience, however painful it was, has changed her life for the better.

“I wanted to share my story since the very day (it happened),” she said. Her goal is to help others find hope, no matter what type situation they have encountered. And that is a life that will, she hopes, “matter.”

Lifestyle of LoveFeature writing class gets a chance to talk with Columbine High School survivor

Workshop Writing

advisers

students

MSU adviser courses fun, meet the needs

Please see ADVISER COURSES, page 14

WORKSHOP RevIeW

The Feature Writing class, taught by Peggy Morton, listens to Crystal Miller, a survivor of the Columbine shooting. Workshop staff member Jamie Flanagan helped to arrange the conference call with Miller.

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BuildinG a staFF Students in Kim Green’s Leadership Class learned how to connect with each other while playing team-building exercises.

intervieWinG skills Maurice Joseph, a Spartan basketball player, was part of a press conference at the workshop. Students had a chance to ask questions.

up close and too personal Sparty cuddles with workshop instructor Dan Trommater and MIPA office manager Penny Aiken at the opening session. Sparty’s a workshop regular.

concentration A student stud-ies over his writing. The MIPA Workshop offers eight different courses in writing.

the tuesday niGht picnic It’s a tradition. On Tuesday night we have a picnic out behind Shaw Hall along the Red Cedar River. Hot dogs, ham-burgers, potato salad, chips, brownies, pop and an ant or two.

WORKSHOP RevIeW

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yes, it Was Way too hot Workshop assistant Jenny Toland wipes her brow as she delivers water to the workshop. Temperatures reached into the high 90s, and living in the dorm with no air conditioning was a bummer.

not one oF the kids Justin Bilicki was a new instructor teaching a new class at MIPA: Cartooning. MIPA is probably the only workshop in the nation offering this course, and we know we’re the only one to have such an awesome instructor. Go ahead, Google Justin Bilicki and see what you find . . .

the t-shirt Everyone gets a free t-shirt, but this smart student brought her own MIPA T-shirt.

Jack roBerts rocks The ex-ecutive director of the Michigan High School Athletic Association is a frequent speaker in Jeff Nardone’s Sports Writing class. He shares with students the latest news about high school sports.

WorkinG hard A beginning yearbook student works dili-gently on his spread in Lynn Strause and Sandra Strall’s class.

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By Jason Skiba, adviser Battle Creek Central HS

hink alphabet soup. Different letters all made up of the same stuff. Now, think of a classroom in any high school. Different kids all made up of the same stuff.

Although soup is something that almost everyone can make, creating a classroom environ-ment that accepts diversity, and even focuses on it, is not. That’s why today’s journalism educators are such a special breed.

Most journalism teachers are cognizant of the fact their school is a diverse community and their classes need to reflect that. “My room and classes are often more diverse than most other classes,” Marnie Hade, an adviser at Northwest High School in Jackson, said. Hade, along with eight other veteran advisers, recent-ly attended the Power Advising class put on by the MSU School of Journalism.

“We have to [create a diverse classroom] . . . ” Hade said. “But, recruiting needs to occur.”

She echoed the sentiment of other advisers who say a diverse classroom is important but there must be an effort on the part of the teacher to make it happen.

Keith Rydzik, an adviser at Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn for 10 years, has recently seen his recruiting efforts pay off.

“I used to go to other English classes and make a pitch and literally tell them I need a staff to reflect the school. Lately, I don’t need to do this.”

Rydzik’s school is a culturally and racially diverse school. He feels he has seen “too many little stories … [that] exhibit the pressure these students feel in reconciling being an American and being Muslim.”

easy as ABCHe’s not alone. Many advisers see the importance

of creating diversity in their classroom so that stu-dents have the opportunity to be exposed to it.

“I guess I’m no expert at creating that percent racially, but I do think it’s important,” Judi Henckel, a second-year adviser from Athens High School, said.

Advisers aren’t the only ones paying attention to a diverse environment though.

The American Society of Newspaper Editors

Creating classroom diversity

Jason Skiba, publication adviser at Battle Creek Central, led a discussion with students in the Power Advising class about the importance of diversity in the journalism classroom.

(ASNE) have set a lofty goal of hav-ing the workforce in newsrooms match the minority population of the United States by the year 2025.

ASNE, with 860 members, is an organization of the main editors of daily newspapers in the Americas. They have adopted a newsroom diver-sity mission statement that highlights their goal in creating parity with the population by 2025.

In a 2004 press release, then-ASNE President Edward Seaton, edi-tor-in-chief of The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury, said, “This mission state-ment strongly reaffirms our commit-ment to having newsrooms that reflect the communities that we cover.”

The problem, at least to journalism advisers in high schools, is that this seems an unlikely goal to be met.

“. . . realistically, no. The Detroit area [for example] is so segregated between the city and the sub[divisions] – it’s not a journalism issue, it’s a societal issue,” said Marissa Mazur, Romeo High School’s adviser for the last three years.

She’s not the only one that doesn’t see the goal as attainable with the amount of work and effort that is hap-pening right now.

“It’s a great goal,” Hade said. “But it will require a lot of recruiting. The

numbers . . . entering journalism pro-grams in college have to shift dramatically.”

She thinks that it is something that needs to be addressed.

“Many minorities in my school are not interested in journalism versus other programs so recruiting is a big issue,” she said.

Simple as 123It’s those numbers entering jour-

nalism programs that advisers see as one of the downfalls of ASNE’s goal. They also see one of the largest obsta-cles to creating those opportunities for students to become involved in journalism—there may be no journal-ism program where students go to school.

“First, with budgeting and state curriculum, journalism programs are in trouble in lots of school districts – so preserving the programs comes first—diversity has to be second,” Hade said.

Many agree with her. Journalism educators respect the goal but think that if curriculum changes happen at the school level there won’t be initial interest in the subject in the first place. Some advisers are worried that these cuts are happening because some peo-

Please see DIVERSITY, page 14

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Taylor McGowan Clarkston HS Shoot First, Photoshop Later Best Overall PortfolioMaria Brundage Dexter HS Photoshop CT Creative Imaging AwardWill Lawrence East Lansing HS Sports Writing Most Excellent Sports FeatureVeronica Nagy Fenton HS Photo 2 Photo for Publication 2Brijit Spencer Fenton HS Photo 2 Photo for Publication 2Luke Arreguin Findlay HS (Ohio) Video Production Video ProductionBrandi Kushuba Goodrich HS Editors YB Outstanding Editorial LeadershipRobbie Fisher Grosse Pointe North HS Leadership Editors’ Choice Leadership AwardTaylor Hauck Grosse Pointe South HS Radical Writing Outstanding WritingEvan Welch Grosse Pointe South HS Radical Writing Outstanding WritingElisabeth Dion H.H. Dow HS Adv. NP Design Advanced Newspaper DesignDallas Dralle H.H. Dow HS Adv. NP Design Outstanding Advanced Newspaper PortfolioCaitlynn Haas Haslett HS Photoshop Begins w/Photo Great People Photos/Photoshop ExperimentationAbby Wood Haslett HS Editors YB Outstanding Editorial LeadershipSara Humphreys Heritage HS Adv. YB Writing/Reporting Exemplary WritingCecile Cosby Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) YB Writing/Design Yearbook Writing & DesignLisa Venable Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) Adv. YB Design Outstanding Yearbook DesignJessica McKeever Lake Fenton HS InDesign InDesignLauren Myrand Mercy HS Editors NP Leadership AwardSarah Rogers Mercy HS Rethinking Your Pub Outstanding EffortJoelle Jacobs Midland HS Entertainment Writing Excellence in Entertainment WritingChristy Duan Novi HS Opinion Writing Excellence in CartooningTeal Inzunza Okemos HS Journalistic Writing First Rate Cub ReporterEvelyn Maidlow Okemos HS Opinion Writing Outstanding Work in Opinion WritingEmily Serkaian Okemos HS Feature Writing Feature Writing & LeadershipGavin Jackson Southeastern HS YB Writing/Design Yearbook Writing & DesignMike Carson Stevenson HS (Ill.) Editors NP Leadership AwardAngela Soyad Stevenson HS InDesign InDesign ExcellenceSarah Bowman Stoney Creek HS InDesign Superior Design QualityRyan Moore Stoney Creek HS Journalistic Writing Outstanding News StoryCarly Moore Traverse City East Jr. High Jr. High Journalism Journalism ExcellenceAdrianna McIntyre Utica HS InDesign Outstanding Theme Package DesignBrittney Osborne Wayland HS Bus. Management Business Management

Courtney Kazmierczak Alpena HS Entertainment Writing Best All-Around Entertainment WriterAmber Cooper Bath HS Journalistic Writing Best AttitudeKellie Kondrat Boyne Falls HS Video Production Excellence in Video ProductionBeth Jackson Carman-Ainsworth HS Editors YB Dedication to CraftJoy Wilke Chelsea HS Editors NP Best Staff EditorialJosh Derezinski City High MS Photoshop CT Creative Imaging AwardRachel English Clarkston HS YB Writing/Design Sparkler AwardHayley Albright Clarkston HS Photo 1 Photojournalism ExcellenceSarah Tharrett Clarkston HS Editors YB People’s Choice/DesignMelissa Bailey Clarkston HS Adv. YB Writing/Reporting Outstanding WritingWendy Roberts Clarkston HS Photo 1 Excellence in PhotojournalismKhonsu A. Spratt Cranbrook Schools Journalistic Writing Best of ShowRaven Martin Dakota HS Journalistic Writing LeadershipAlyssa Robinson Dexter HS Photoshop Begins Strong Visual ImageryKatie Johnson Dexter HS Radical Writing Radical WriterLuke Altomare Dexter HS Cartooning Excellence in CartooningKarly Stanislovaitis Dexter HS Feature Writing ExcellenceJaymi Bradley Eastern HS Journalistic Writing EnduranceKevin Reeves Eastern HS Journalistic Writing Best Work Ethic

WORKSHOP STUDENTS WHO

MADeTHeGRADe We had some awesome workshop students last summer! We think all students are special, but the ones who won awards at the MIPa Summer Journalism Workshop were rated top among their peers. a Sparty is the top award given at the workshop, and a classroom excellence award is another high honor. congratulations to all winners!

Sparty WinnersName School Class Award Name

Name School Class Award Name

Classroom Excellence Awards

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Amy Cooper Farmington HS Adv. NP Design Outstanding RedesignTori Cowger Fenton HS InDesign Outstanding Newspaper DesignBecca Rausch Fenton HS Photo 2 Most ImprovedDiane Teall Fenton HS Adv. NP Design Most CreativeSummer Ballentine Fenton HS Feature Writing Excellence in Feature WritingNicholas Husted Fenton HS Journalistic Writing Certified Cub ReporterDanielle DeArment Findlay HS (Ohio) Video Production Excellence in Video ProductionAnne Donovan Findlay HS (Ohio) Video Production Excellence in Video ProductionAaron Hamel Fraser HS Radical Writing Radical WriterNora Christiansen Goodrich HS Photoshop Begins Great Eye for People Pix & ExperimentationStephanie Harvey Grand Haven HS Journalistic Writing Most Promising JournalistWilliam Schrage Grosse Pointe North HS Sports Writing Excellence in Sports WritingJanine Plourde Grosse Pointe North HS Opinion Writing Excellence in Opinion WritingKirsten Ditta Grosse Pointe South HS Radical Writing Radical WriterKaitlin Arnold Grosse Pointe South HS InDesign ExcellenceMegan Durisin H.H. Dow HS Radical Writing Radical WriterHannah Koaches H.H. Dow HS Rethinking Your Pub Outstanding Alternative Story PackageDarin Smith H.H. Dow HS Entertainment Writing Excellence in Entertainment WritingDuane Allen H.H. Dow HS Photoshop CT Creative Imaging AwardWhitney VandenBerg Haslett HS Editors YB Outstanding Section DesignsNathan Moore Haslett HS Adv. NP Design Outstanding DesignerCaitlynn Haas Haslett HS Photoshop Begins Great Eye for People Pix & ExperimentationMalorie Urda Haslett HS Photo 2 Excellence in PhotojournalismSagal Ali Heritage HS InDesign Outstanding Magazine Cover DesignMeaghan Cassin Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) YB Writing/Design Picture PerfectPat Garvin Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) Adv. YB Writing/Reporting Outstanding Writing & AttitudePriya Agrawal Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) InDesign First Place Theme Package DesignAnna Kuhn Hinsdale Central HS (Ill.) InDesign 3rd Place Theme Package DesignRebecca Turchanik Howell HS InDesign Outstanding PerformanceJordan Garza Ithaca HS Editors YB Outstanding Theme DevelopmentKelsey Sopel Ithaca HS Editors YB Outstanding Theme DevelopmentAlexa Allen Ithaca HS Rethinking Your Pub Outstanding Consistency AwardNatalie Minott Laingsburg HS Editors YB Outstanding Theme DevelopmentCrystal Thayer Laingsburg HS Editors YB Outstanding Theme DevelopmentHeidi Lentz Laingsburg HS InDesign 2nd Place Theme Package DesignTaylor Nunley Lake Fenton HS Adv. NP Design Overall Best RedesignTia Doyle Lake Fenton HS Editors NP Best Policy StatementLauren McLeod Lake Orion HS Photo 1 Photojournalism ExcellenceBrittany Jones Lakeview HS Bus. Management Best of the Best AwardMia Sandler Battle Creek Lakeview HS Bus. Management Best of the Best AwardLogan Reigner Battle Creek Lakeview HS Leadership Above & Beyond AwardAmy Poole Lakewood HS Editors NP Best Staff EditorialDarby McGaw MacDonald MS Jr. High Journalism Outstanding Effort & Production Dennis Oosterhart Marshall HS Adv. YB Design Outstanding Design PortfolioKurt Juday Marshall HS Editors NP Best Staff EditorialKurt Juday Marshall HS Editors NP Best Policy StatementElaine Magiera Marshall HS Editors NP Best Policy StatementKatie Maynard Marshall HS Photo 2 Best People PhotographyKatherine O’Donnell Mercy HS InDesign Outstanding PerformanceJenn Linton Mercy HS Entertainment Writing ExcellenceCoutney Williams Mercy HS Photoshop CT Creative Imaging AwardJulie Mulloy Mercy HS Editors NP Best Staff EditorialRebecca Zhou Mercy HS Editors NP Best Staff EditorialNathan Zemanek Midland HS Adv. NP Design Outstanding Feature DesignSarah Fletcher Mona Shores HS Shoot First-Photoshop Image Excellemce—PortraitKrystle Wagner Mona Shores HS Feature Writing Excellence in Feature WritingSimone Anderson Mona Shores HS Journalistic Writing Certified Cub ReporterNicole Brooks Niles HS Adv. NP Design Student’s Choice AwardCaitlin Tetrick North Farmington HS Adv. YB Design Outstanding Design PortfolioClaire Abraham Novi HS Sports Writing ExcellencePriya Bayisetti Pioneer HS InDesign Outstanding PerformanceDavid Hopper Plymouth HS InDesign Design ExcellenceBradley Perry Port Huron Northern HS Opinion Writing Excellence in Opinion WritingZareen Van Winkle Portage Northern HS Rethinking Your Pub Outstanding Nameplate DesignEmily Pfund Portage Northern HS Feature Writing Excellence in Feature WritingKatie Walch Portage Northern HS Bus. Management Best of the Best AwardHaley Foydel Romeo HS Adv. YB Writing/Reporting Outstanding Writing & Boundless PotentialOctaevis James Sexton HS Journalistic Writing Excellence

Name School Class Award Name

WORKSHOP RevIeW

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Meghan Spork Shrine HS Opinion Writing Excellence in Opinion WritingJosh Frydman Stevenson HS (Ill.) Radical Writing Radical WriterTricia Makin Stevenson HS InDesign Outstanding Yearbook DesignCatherine Raftery Stevenson HS Editors YB Outstanding Section DesignJennifer VanSparrentak Stevenson HS Shoot First-Photoshop Image Excellence & Work EthicKristina Hauptmann Stevenson HS (Ill.) Sports Writing Excellence in Sports WritingJamie Hausman Stevenson HS (Ill.) Entertainment Writing Excellence in Entertainment WritingHeather Anuta Stevenson HS (Ill.) InDesign Design ExcellenceRyan Dickson Stevenson HS InDesign Design ExcellenceMina Mineva Stevenson HS (Ill.) Leadership Above & Beyond AwardBrian Schnurr Stoney Creek HS Video Production ExcellenceNick Marckel Troy Athens HS Sports Writing Excellence in Sports WritingJenny Vainberg Troy HS Photoshop Begins Great Eye for Shapes & DesignsNick Mattar Troy HS Editors NP Best Policy StatementErin Robison Waterford Kettering HS Adv. YB Design Outstanding Design PortfolioMichael Strong Waterford Kettering HS YB Writing/Design Lead-the-WayLauren Rollison Waterford Kettering HS Shoot First-Photoshop Image Excellence—Capturing a MomentBrittney Osborne Wayland HS Bus. Management Best of the Best Award

Name School Class Award Name

WORKSHOP RevIeW

Angela Soyad of Stevenson HS designed this page in her InDesign class at the MIPA Workshop. Her instructor was Kirk Weber.▲

Maria Brundage of Dexter HS cre-ated this photo illustration of the blog-ging seminar for her class in Photoshop Creative Techniques class, which was taught by Ike Lea.

▲

Veronica Nagy of Fenton HS took this photo at the MIPA Sum-mer Journalism Work-shop. She was in the Beginning Photo class taught by Paula Turner and Dan Trommater.

▲

Dallas Dralle of H.H. Dow HS designed this page in the Advanced Newspaper Design class. Instructor Sherri Taylor awarded Dralle the Sparty Award for her work.

▲

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Lit. Magazine: Name Lit. Magazine Adviser

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Today’s date DEADLINE: SCHOOLS MUST JOIN MIPA BY JAN. 31, 2007, TO PARTICIPATE IN CONTESTS FOR THAT CALENDAR YEAR.

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PReSIDeNT, cont. from page �ADvISeR COURSeS, cont. from page 6

DIveRSITY, cont. from page 6

him up for the trip. Despite the numerous memorials

and honor services held throughout the country, they couldn’t get him to attend any of them. They were wor-ried that he wasn’t grieving for his sister, and they thought this trip might help him start the process. In addition, he had a pass to the family viewing area at Ground Zero, and for the first time he was talking about wanting to see where his sister died.

So on an unusually warm March day I found myself in Manhattan with 15 other high school seniors, a colleague and Eli, standing on a raised platform looking at still-smoking, hallowed rubble. And as the other students meandered off to the EPSN store or the Hard Rock Cafe or Madame Toussauds Wax Museum, Eli, Cheryl and I found a policeman to direct us to the family viewing area.

It was touching when the police officer—in every respect a stereo-typical movie cop with broad shoul-ders, Brooklyn accent and brusque manner—hugged Eli when he learned what happened to his sister.

It was even more touching when we walked in to the family viewing area and Eli immediately found a mini-memorial to his sister including her photo, some flowers and a poem someone had written for her.

But what made two teachers cry as if the loss was their own was when, in a private moment of grief, Eli slowly approached this tribute to

his sister, touched the photo of her gently, tentatively, with the fingers on his right hand as if the photo might burn him, and quietly whis-pered, “I love you,” as he collapsed in tears.

Lesson learnedWe did do a center spread about

9-11 in our paper that year. And we did find other students with connec-tions to the tragedy. But we never did a story about Eli’s sister. Stu-dents asked him multiple times, but he didn’t want to talk about it.

And if I hadn’t shared Eli’s pri-vate moment of grief with him, that probably would have bothered me. I would have encouraged students to talk to him and to keep talking to him until they got the story. But being at Ground Zero with him that day made me rethink my “get the story” mentality.

Yes, journalism is about getting the story, being persistent, finding the local angle, chronicling history and giving perspective.

Journalism is certainly about all these things.

But as I watched Eli grieve that day for a sister who died too soon in a conflict not of her making, I also realized that journalism is about compassion, sensitivity and when to leave well enough alone.

Sometimes, my time with Eli taught me, journalism isn’t just about getting the story. Sometimes it’s about not getting the story too.

in August.The difference between instructing teachers and

then their students?“The instructors ask more questions,” according to

Lea. “They know what they need . . . They know what problems they’ve been having.”

Despite the demands of technology as well as increased academic standards that make it more chal-lenging for high school students to fit a journalism class into their schedule, Rau said she is encouraged by the enthusiasm of her adolescent and adult students.

“They still make time to come in late and work,” she noted.

ple don’t view the subjects as important.“This is a respectable but lofty goal—considering

changes to our curriculum in Michigan. ‘Electives,’ aka lesser important classes in the eyes of some, may get cut. Journalism may suffer as a result,” said Linda Andrada, a 15-year veteran adviser.

Andrada has been an adviser at Lake Fenton High School for 10 years and is worried that the programs won’t survive. She thinks that professional organiza-tions like MIPA or the Journalism Education Associa-tion could help at the state level by working with decision-makers about curriculum.

“[They should] lobby in relation to the state cur-riculum. We may lose publication classes or have journalism swallowed up within other classes,” said Andrada.*

That’s the largest concern for many advisers. They can work for diversity but without the actual classes, there really isn’t a point.

Andrada believes that journalism classes need to survive for anything else to matter.

“If we lose these classes, having diversity in them will be a moot point.”

After all, a class without students is like alphabet soup . . . without the alphabet.

*Editor’s Note: A meeting is scheduled with the state English/Language Arts coordinator for Saturday, Dec. 2. All are welcome to come to MSU that day to help with the process of matching standards to curriculum. Results will be put up on the MIPA Web site as soon as they are completed. MIPA has some buttons left from the conference.

We’re trying to help the Student Press Law Center meet its financial goals by the end of this year. We collected nearly $500 at the Fall Conference by selling buttons (thanks to all of you who contributed!), and we’re trying to do more. Send us a buck, and we’ll send you a button. Send us lots of bucks, and we’ll send you lots of buttons. And if you don’t want any buttons, send some money to SPLC at 1101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100, Arlington, VA 22209, or visit www. splc.org. Let’s help the SPLC meet its goal!

Give a buck. Get a button.

actual

size

CONTEST2007

Watch your mail in early January for the contest announcement. All materials will be on the Web.

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November 2006 ■ 15

they’re the neW advisers on the Block It’s always a pleasure to meet new journal-ism teachers and advisers at the MIPA Fall Conference. And to see this many at one time was just plain awesome! Welcome to the MIPA family!

it Was the place to Be The exhibitor room was full of students sitting all over the floor looking at yearbooks. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

GettinG help FroM others Face to Face Critiques are always a popular event at the Fall Conference. Here Ruth Mavis of Algonac HS talks with two students about their yearbook.

special speakers Far left: Kathy Daly from Colorado thrilled yearbook students with her fun, interac-tive sessions. Middle: Tom Gayda from Indi-ana was the featured newspaper speaker, while Kevin Kneisley, left, of Georgia spoke to video students.

Fall Conferenceattracted its largest, coolest group ever!

2,720

Although some rooms were crowded and there was that pesky gas leak, we’re still glad that MIPA’s

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MIPA/School of Journalism 305 Communication Arts BuildingMichigan State UniversityEast Lansing, MI 48824-1212

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“it was a gas.”The MIPA Fall Conference was memorable in lots of ways. For one, it was the largest fall conference ever with 131 schools repre-sented and more than 2,720 in attendance. For

another, there were great speakers! But perhaps even more than those, this journalism day will be remembered as the one where everyone had to evacuate because construction workers in front of the Lansing Center hit a gas main. Luckily—if you can use such a word in a paragraph describing this event—it occurred during the last session, right after lunch. Lansing Center person-nel were pleased that everyone handled the evacuation so well. Some students did what comes naturally: they started taking notes and photos. Two Lansing Everett HS students had a story and photo published the next day in the Lansing State Journal.

Photo by Erika Edwards, Laingsburg HS

t