By Liz Viall

A fundraiser to support EIU journalism stu-dents and honoring former journalism chair James Tidwell will premiere the documentary “A Taste of Gullah” Wednesday, April 29, at the Top of the Roc in Charleston.

Janice Collins, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois and formerly a journalism professor at EIU, wrote and produced the piece, which will air on WEIU-TV April 29 at 9 p.m.

“During my time at Eastern Illinois Universi-ty, James Tidwell was the chair of the journalism department and extended total support when I told him that I wanted to capture and record spe-cial moments of the Gullah culture from down south,” Collins said. “This culture, heritage and its people are a special and rare part of the Amer-ican fabric, a story that needs to be preserved.”

The Gullah are descendants of enslaved Afri-cans who live in the coastal plains and sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia.

Collins said Tidwell, who died in April of last year, believed in her project and gave her the freedom to create.

“I assured him that I would finish the proj-ect,” she said, and did so with help from talent at EIU and three students from the University of Il-linois.

“There are many other stories just like mine of Tidwell’s welcoming spirit to all who came within his vision and space,” Collins said. “Let’s celebrate all that he did for students, colleagues and journalism and pass it forward.”

The James Tidwell Freedom Fundraiser will begin at 8 p.m. with a performance by an en-

semble of the Coles County Barbershop Chorus scheduled for 8:10 p.m. Tidwell was a member of the chorus. Broadcast of “A Taste of Gullah” will follow at 9 p.m.

Collins said the documentary will also be streamed at the same time at http:/www.weiu.net/watch_online/

It is scheduled for rebroadcast on WEIU-TV Thursday, April 30, at 4 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Those wishing to help with the fundraiser, but who cannot attend, may donate at: http:/www.gofundme.com/r9pa2fc

News and information for EIU students in the Department of Journalism

April 2015Vol. 2, No. 2T h e J o u r n a l i s t

T h e W a v e l e n g t h

T h e R e l a y

By Jazmin Smiley

JWR

Fundraiser to honor James Tidwell

Professor to retire from department after 30 years

See RYAN, pg. 4

Dr. John Ryan, journalism professor and director of student publications, will part from EIU and the journalism department this spring.

Ryan is a former journalism student at EIU and received a bachelor’s in journalism in 1975. He later became the youngest member of the journalism facul-ty in the fall of 1985. Ryan said he never thought about working at his alma mater as a profes-sor, but his wife suggested he try something different after being offered a job in Springfield.

“I knew a lot about the jour-nalism program at Eastern al-ready. I wanted to assist the pro-

gram and the students in the journalism department, and at that point it kind of all made sense,” Ryan said.

Ryan has been able to see journalism transform during his time as a student and a fac-ulty member. Ryan said he was present when ‘Intro to Computer and Email’ classes were offered in 1992-93 and utilized the first search engine in 1991, Gopher.

“You have to grow and change with the developments,” Ryan said, “The news industry is constantly changing, much dif-ferent than when I was an un-dergrad. We had no computers in the newsroom, we typed on typewriters.”

Ryan has proven in his career that the continuation of educa-tion is of the utmost importance. Aside from his undergraduate education, Ryan has received an master’s in journalism from the University of Illinois, a mas-ter’s in English from Eastern Il-linois University and a doctorate in journalism from Southern Il-linois University. “If you’re seri-ous about what you’re doing, you should study as far as you can in your career, Ryan said.”

Overall, Ryan is proud and satisfied with his career at EIU, especially the journalism de-partment. “This is a really good program, I don’t know if people realize how well our alumni has

Samantha Middendorf scholarship awarded at banquetBy Jackelyn Runde

To honor Samantha E. Midden-dorf, the journalism department will be awarding a student this spring with a scholarship in her name to pay forward her contribu-tions to EIU as well as the journal-ism department.

Middendorf, a former journal-ism major, was active in The Daily Eastern News and in other areas of the department. She started work-ing in the journalism office when

she was a freshman through the work study program.

Beth Kastl, the office admin-istrator in the journalism depart-ment, worked with Samantha on a daily basis and said Middendorf had a lot of potential paired with a bubbly personality. Kastl said she always had a smile on her face and was never in a bad mood.

“Samantha was one of those in-dividuals that always brought hap-piness to the department” Kastl said.

Samantha’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Middendorf, are now donat-ing a scholarship worth $1,000. The recipient must be a full-time, undergraduate student majoring in journalism at EIU.

The individual must maintain an overall cumulative GPA of at least a 3.0. The student must have shown major contribution to The Daily Eastern News. They must submit a paper of at least 250 words showing commitment to portraying a journalism career. It is preferred,

but not required, to obtain some type of volunteer service in the field of journalism, writing, education, music, animal welfare, and/or do-mestic violence programs.

Another preference is to have a special interest in entertainment reporting. If there happens to be a tie-breaker, financial aid can be considered. This is a cash-in-cash-out type of scholarship. It is the first year it will be offered to stu-

See MIDDENDORF, pg. 4

James Tidwell

John Ryan

“The news industry is constantly changing, much different than when I was an undergrad. We had no computers in the newsroom; we typed on typewriters.” John Ryan

2 JWR

John Humenik, a 1985 Eastern Illinois Universi-ty journalism alumni, re-turned to campus to meet with students and faculty members.

During his visit, he spoke to various depart-ment classes and offered to interview and review re-sumes for students.

At the age of 15, Hu-menik started his career in Chicago on the sports staff at the Star Herald and the Daily Southtown.

While attending East-ern, Humenik was sports editor for the Daily East-ern News for two and a half years. He was also on staff in 1983 when the News won the Pacemaker Award, a competition co-sponsored by the Associated Collegiate Press and Newspaper Asso-ciation of America Founda-tion.

After graduating from Eastern, Humenik was an editor for seven years at the Quad City Times in Daven-port, Iowa, where he was named “Editor of the Year”

in 2004 by Suburban News-papers of America.

In 2005, Humenik moved to Tucson, Arizona and was publisher and ed-itor of the Arizona Daily Star. During his time there, Suburban Newspapers of America named the Arizo-na Daily Star “Newspaper of the Year” in 2008 and 2010.

Humenik is currently the vice president of news for Lee Enterprises, a me-dia company that publish-es 44 daily newspapers across the country, includ-

ing the Southern Illinois-an, the Herald & Review and the Journal Gazette & Times-Courier.

He is also currently the president and publisher of the Wisconsin State Jour-nal.

He has also served as chairman for the Local Me-dia Association, an organi-

zation that helps local me-dia companies with digital transitions.

Humenik donates his time to the Tucson Festi-val of Books, the country’s fourth largest book festival, of which he is a co-founder and chairman.

JWR T h e J o u r n a l i s t

T h e W a v e l e n g t h

T h e R e l a y

JWR is a publication of the EIU Departmentof Journalism.2521 Buzzard Hall,600 Lincoln Ave., Charleston, IL 61920 217-581-6003www.eiu.edu/~journal

JWR: is organized, edited and designed by The Agency, the student-run publicrelations firm at EIU.

The Agency meets:Every Thursday in 2434 Buzzard Hall5 p.m.

Editor: Liz Grubart

The AgencyDirector:Katelyn Ifft

The Agency AssociateDirector:Jazmin Smiley

The Agency Adviser: Liz Viall,ekviall@eiu.edu

The Agency produces JWR and writes news for the department’s blog

Blog: www.eiujournalism.wordpress.com

Twitter: @EIU_Journalism

Facebook Page:search for Eastern Illinois University Journalism

Staff:Website: www.eiu.edu/~agency

Writers: Jazmin Smiley Jackelyn Runde Liz Viall Katelyn Siegert Ashley Jordan Paige Bennett Tenicha HudsonSarah HaarmannLexi StickelDevon SacramentoRachel Pender

By Ashley Jordan

Elizabeth Heldebrandt, journalism teacher and public relations director at Booth Library gave the pre-sentation, “Quanah & Cyn-thia Ann Parker: The His-tory and the Legend.” She presented at the Crawford County Historical Society in Robinson, Ill., on Feb. 12 and at the Buzzard Hall Au-ditorium Feb. 25.

Heldebrandt said each semester the library pres-ents a program series on a certain topic and one or more staff members serve as the “project director.” This semester, she was the project director for the Parker exhibit. She ex-plained her interest with the Parker story, which was her reasoning behind be-coming this program’s di-rector.

Heldebrandt said giving the presentation in the area where the Parkers were first established enlight-ened the descendants of the Parkers as well as informed the citizens of their histo-ry. Not only is this piece of history a key part in shap-ing Charleston’s commu-nity, but also is nation-re-nowned. “…the story of Quanah and Cynthia Ann is well-known in Texas and

has inspired many books, songs, musicals, TV shows and movies,” Heldebrandt said.

The presentation was about the Parker family, which was one of the very first residents of the Coles County area. Heldebrandt explains how some of them moved to Texas, which was considered Mexico, and were attacked by Native Americans. A few Parkers were killed and others kid-napped, including Cynthia Ann, she said.

Cynthia Ann married and had children with an Indian tribal chief.

“The son, Quanah, grew up to be a leader of the tribe,” Heldebrandt said.

He essentially lead his tribe in times of struggle and success, made trips to Washington D.C. to fight for his people, and became friends with President Roo-sevelt.

The library’s exhibit this semester was especially important for Heldebrandt, since she was the program director, and also had a genuine interest in sharing this story with members of the community. “I hope my presentation both informed and fascinated the audi-ence,” Heldebrandt said.

Professor speakson Parker legend

Alumnus John Humenik,‘85 visits journalism classesJohn Humenik spoke with Bryan Murley’s Introduction to Multi-Media class on Wed., April 22. Photo: Katelyn Siegert

By Katelyn Siegert

3APRIL 2015

congratulations journalism seniorsFour seniors reflect on college experiences and anticipate the future

Organizations holdtalent show, clothingsale, date auction

Cody Delmendo grew up in Moweaqua, Illinois. His fa-vorite thing about being a jour-nalism major is the exciting re-sponses and compliments he gets on his work.

His favorite memory at East-ern is being a part of the Sig-ma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and taking 2nd place in Big Man Tugs during Greek Week.

Delmendo’s future plans include striving to become a sports reporter for any media outlet. He said he would not be here if it wasn’t for the support from his family, friends, and fra-ternity brothers.

“I cannot thank them enough,” Delmendo said. He is proud to be the first in his fami-ly to graduate from college.

Jazmin Smiley grew up on the South side of Chicago. She chose to attend Eastern because the small population allowed for more hands-on opportunities and closer relationships with professors.

Her favorite thing about be-ing a journalism major is the variety of professions available and the creative capacity of jour-nalism students as a whole.

Her favorite memory at East-ern is being a freshman when everything was new and excit-ing. Smiley plans to attend law school in the fall.

“I am so grateful for the sup-portive and caring environment that was provided by the jour-nalism staff and faculty” Smiley said.

The Agency and PRSSA sponsored two events this spring.

The Agency held a clothing sale March 3 and 4 to raise money for its annu-el talent show, which helps The Salvation Army. The clothing sale made $109 and all clothes that were not sold were donated to The Salvation Army.

Agency students ran the sale and many students around EIU’s campus do-nated clothes. The clothes were sold for $1 a piece.

The Agency’s social me-dia editor, Ashley Jordan, said it was a great idea be-cause it helped The Agen-cy with the talent show but also the unsold clothes got donated to a good cause.

“The clothing sale real-ly reached its goal and I be-lieve that it is something that The Agency should con-tinue to do,” Jordan said.

The money raised went toward a $100 prize in the 3rd Annual Salvation Army

Talent Show April 9 in Pemberton Hall. Eight var-ious talents competed for the prize. The winner was Megan Lupou. The event raised about $60 for the Salvation Army, as well as a box of canned goods do-nated to the Army’s pantry program.

PRSSA, the Public Re-lations Student Society of America, raised funds with a date auction in March.

The main goal was to spread the word about PRS-SA and to raise funds for the organization, Katelyn Ifft, PRSSA president, said.

Overall PRSSA made $100 and had nine people participate in the auction.

“The event was real-ly fun. Everyone seemed to have a good time and every-one involved had a really great attitude,” Ifft said.

Ifft said judging by the success of the event there is a pretty good chance the it will be held again and grow bigger and better in the coming years.

By Lexi Stickel

Student SuccessKappa Tau Alpha had

three inductees this year. Only the top ten percent of the senior journalism class is honored. Katelyn Ifft, Gina Volk, and Katelyn Sie-gert were those students se-lected.

Ifft said she has been striving for this goal her whole college career and is excited to accept this award. Ifft is very involved on cam-pus in the journalism de-partment. She is involved with the Agency, PRSSA, Society for Collegiate Jour-nalists, and has worked with the national headquar-ters for the Society for Col-legiate Journalists.

Gina Volk was honored the top scholar of KTA.

“Receiving the Top Scholar Award made me realize why I chose to be part of the journalism de-partment at Eastern” Volk said. “I came here to work for student publications, work hard, learn from professors and get good grades.”

Volk is the edi-tor-in-chief of the 2014-2015 Warbler Yearbook and is a member of the So-ciety for Collegiate Journal-ists as well. Her future plans include working as a pho-tographer for J-Wag Photo in Mattoon, where she will be shooting wedding pho-tography, portraiture, spe-

cial events, etc. Katelyn Siegert was the

third recipient. “It’s definitely an hon-

or to be in an organization with some of the best in the profession.”

Siegert is currently the designer for The Daily Eastern News’ weekly en-tertainment section, The Verge, and a copy editor and staff reporter for The Daily Eastern News. She is also a member of the Soci-ety for Collegiate Journal-ists.

These three women were recognized on April 7 during an induction cere-mony where they received their membership certifi-cates.

Kappa Tau Alpha initiates members By Sarah Haarmann

Friday, May 1IHSA Journalism Competition - all day,

main site in Buzzard Hall

Saturday, May 25:30 p.m. - Journalism and Student Me-

dia Banquet, 5:30 p.m., 7th Street Under-ground, MLK Jr. Union

Saturday, May 9Journalism Graduate Breakfast, 9:30

a.m., 7th Street Underground, MLK Jr. Union

College of Arts and Humanities com-mencement, noon

Savanna Tomei is a WEIU NewsWatch anchor. Tomei, a Naperville, Illinois, native, said she knew she wanted to write because that is what she had always liked to do.

In both middle school and high school, she won awards for her writing. Tomei came into EIU thinking she wanted to write for print.

When Tomei heard about WEIU, she found her calling as an anchor. Being able to meet many different people is something she will always remember. Tomei will miss being in the newsroom surrounded by her friends.

“Most of my friends are people I work with,” Tomei said, “It’s really going to stand out to me when I think about my time at Eastern.”

Kevin Hall, assistant pho-to editor for the DEN, is anx-ious about graduating in May. Hall said he chose EIU because of how small and close-knit it is.

“Journalism gave me a way to reach out to the different av-enues,” Hall said.

Because of journalism, Hall picked up photography. His peers were always helpful when he needed assistance.

“I like the structure of the journalism program,” Hall said. “The professors and advisers are helpful.”

While working for the DEN, Hall has been able to experience many different things. He plans to apply at news and magazine publications and is currently working on an online magazine with his friends.

Senior stories by Devon Sacramento and Tenicha Hudson

CALENDAR

4 JWR

Journalism department prepares for annual banquet

By Rachel Pender

The journalism depart-ment and student media will soon gather for its end-of-the-year banquet where students will be recognized for their achievements.

The 56th Annual Jour-nalism/Student Media Banquet will be held Satur-day, May 2, at 5:30 p.m. in the 7th Steet Underground of the Martin Luther King Jr., Union.

Students who have shown exemplary leader-ship in groups such as The Agency, The Daily East-ern News, and The Warbler will be receiving awards and scholarships presented by their advisers.

The DEN Person of the Year will also be an-nounced.

Scholarships will be presented to students who have excelled academical-ly in their field of study.

Alumni and friends fund 19 scholarships which the de-partment will be awarding.

A new scholarship this year will honor Samantha Middendorf, the former DEN entertainment editor, who died last November.

The journalism banquet is open to alumni, current and retired faculty of the journalism department, as well as all students. Tickets can be purchased for $15.

The Agency held a clothing sale in the lobbies of Coleman and Buzzard on March 3-4 to raise money for the Salvation Army. Photos: Ashley Jordan and Liz Viall

RYAN...continued from pg. 1

done,” he said. “We have two to three Pulitzer Prize winners and several oth-ers in successful careers in broadcast and public rela-tions.”

Ryan said he had a great experience working here. “Working with students outside of the classroom has

allowed me to get to know them more closely and see them evolve through grad-uation, careers and family, Ryan said.”

Ryan said he has mixed emotions about leaving, but plans to stay involved with-in the EIU community. “We will still remain connected”

he said “The 100 year cele-bration of the Daily Eastern News will be in November and I will definitely be pres-ent,” Ryan said. “Nothing is forever and everything changes, even if you’re in the same spot for 30 years.”

The Agency is looking for you!

The student-run public relations firm at EIU will

be hiring editors for paid positions in fall 2015. If you’re interesting in writing, design, public relations, social media, blogging and campaigns, join

us fall semester.

Contact Liz Viall, Agency adviser, at ekviall@eiu.edu

dents. It can be applied to the upcoming fall semester.

Last year, Samantha received the Eric Schus-ter scholarship. It is award-ed to freshmen who have completed 12 to 18 cred-it hours. John Foreman, who currently works at The News-Gazette in Cham-paign/Urbana, started this scholarship to award an in-

dividual who has demon-strated his or her com-mitment to newspaper journalism at The Daily Eastern News. The individ-ual also has to have strong academic standing, and must demonstrate a need for financial aid.

Sally Renaud, interim chair of the journalism de-partment, said that when

a person in the EIU fam-ily does something good then passes away, the least the school can do is have a scholarship named after that person.

“This shows celebration in their memory of his or her accomplishments,” she said. “These type of schol-arships are to honor, cele-brate, and reward.”

MIDDENDORF...continued from pg. 1

Journalism gradV. Gene Myers

to receive honorary degree at EIU

By Paige Bennett

V. Gene Myers may be a name that most current EIU students are not fa-miliar with, but there was a time when you couldn’t es-cape him on campus. Myers was a student at EIU during 1969-1972.

During that time My-ers had a comic strip called “Cationic State.”

The comic strip was very successful and contin-ued in syndication even af-ter Myers graduated in ’72.

“He was hands down one of the best cartoonists at Eastern,” John David Reed said.

During “Cationic State’s” run in the DEN, Reed was a professor of journalism and director of student publica-tions.

Reed retired ten years ago, but still remembers Myers quite vividly. “I’ve never had him as a stu-dent, but I’d see him al-ways working on his [com-ic] strips,” Reed said.

“Cationic State” was a daily comic strip that made light fun of the situations that EIU students faced and was highly popular amongst its readers.

Myers has been pub-lished in numerous publica-tions, he has been the New Yorker and Playboy most recently.

Myers always had a co-medic sense of humor to himself and his style of comic strips.

“He’s a very funny guy,” John Ryan, professor in the journalism department said.

Not only is Myers a very funny guy, but he is incred-ibly loyal as well.

“He’s been a very loyal alumnus and has been back to many homecomings,” Ryan said.

Myers still keeps in con-tact with fellow alums and other people that went to EIU during his time at the University.

“We used to go to New York and get together with him and all the other alums from the East coast,” Ryan said.

Myers also gives talks to the EIU students when he can.

“V. Gene has come and talked to the art students about his work and com-ics,” Reed said.

Myers loyalty to EIU is one of the reasons he is re-ceiving an honorary degree.

Myers is also receiving the honor because his com-ic strips are nationally syn-dicated and published in major magazines.

The honorary degree nominations are sent to the Honorary Degree Commit-tee, then to the president, and then to the board of trustees for its approval.

Myers will be one of two alums who are receiving an Honorary Degree Award during commencement cer-emonies May 9.