Going to school at Mill Valley

Social networking

Who owns my photos?

THE FIGHT AGAINST PRIOR REVIEW

UH OH! They’re talking...

Superlatives

Printed In Canada

024 55033 J-Day Program.indd 24 3/30/2010 9:52:30 PM

table l of contents

blendblend welcome l brian hayesAs a high school student, you will soon be confronted with some big decisions regarding your fu-ture. What college should you attend? What should you study? What do you see yourself doing in 10 years? These are all tough questions, but questions you will nonetheless need to start think-ing about if you haven’t already.

Colleges and universities alike present a cornucopia of op-tions. In a time when obtaining a college education is becoming more of a necessity than an op-tion, you will really need to think hard about your future goals. All-too-often, students are drawn to schools and majors that are com-fortable to them — schools that a sibling or friend attends and sub-ject areas that they enjoyed while in high school.

While these are all fine reasons to choose a school and/or major, I encourage you to think criti-cally about your life goals. Think hard about your ambitions. Make the decision based on what YOU want to do, not what your friends, parents or boyfriend/girlfriend want you to do. Don’t be afraid of choosing a college or university that will better suit your needs and desires over your friends’ needs or desires.

I probably talk to a dozen stu-dents each semester (mostly col-lege freshmen) who question whether or not they are in the right major. Believe it or not, this is a common concern among first-year students — and it is natural for them to question their choic-es. However, the advice I give may be helpful to you as you begin to

visit schools and choose a prelimi-nary major.

First of all, there is no rush. You have at least four years of classes ahead of you. If it takes you a year to figure out your major, that’s OK, you have plenty of core courses you can take while you figure things out. Secondly, I simply ask “What interests you? What kind of jobs are out there that would al-low you get paid to do it?” If you don’t know, I might encourage you to take a career assessment test at the university advising center. This may help you identify subjects that you have the poten-tial to excel at.

And lastly, I would obviously in-form you about the variety of careers a person could pursue with a degree in journalism or communications outside of the news media. With this degree, the career opportunities are end-less. What field doesn’t need in-terpersonal communicators who can write well? What field doesn’t need technologically savvy criti-cal thinkers who can investigate and solve problems?

With a degree in journalism or communications, you can reason-ably expect to find employment working in a communication po-sition for a not-for-profit organi-zation, a professional sports team, a small business, a major corpora-tion, a K-12 school district, parks and recreation or in media sales. Think about it — every company needs someone to handle their communication, advertising and marking needs. And that some-one could be YOU!

Brian Hayes is the director of Secondary Education at Ball State University. He is a former adviser of student publications at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. Hayes has worked professionally for several newspapers.

3nspa

4journalism etiquette

5ask kim

6social media q&a

10welcome to... mill valley

16superlatives

24courage

28my story

Spring 2010Issue 2 Volume 4

Blend Magazinec/o Department of Journalism

Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

SES DIRECTORBrian Hayes

EDITORTom Gayda

MANAGING EDITORKim Green

BUSINESS MANAGERMegan McNames

CONTRIBUTORSJimmy Hibsch

Michael MajchrowiczSarah Nichols

OFFICE STAFFSarah BergsiekerStephanie Cope

Anna KaiserBecky Rother

Blend Magazine is published by the Secondary Education Services office at Ball State University. Call

765-285-8900 for advertising information. You can always

e-mail the staff at blend.mag@gmail.com.

FOR NSPALogan Aimone

executive director

Emily Griesser member services director

Kathy Hutingcontest/critique coordinator

Marc Woodcommunications director

Suzanne Taberadministrative assistant

Tahera Mamdaniaccountant

FIRST AMENDMENTCongress shall make no law

respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging

the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a

redress of grievances.

Printed In Canada

024 55033 J-Day Program.indd 24 3/30/2010 9:52:30 PM

nspa l logan aimone

Imagine this situation: A teacher, holding a stu-dent’s recent assignment, approaches the writer. It’s really good, the teacher says, praising the student. The student beams with pride and asks whether it might be good enough to get published.

“Oh, definitely,” the teacher replies. “And that’s exactly what our school plans to do since we own this piece of writing.”

The student, astonished, sputters out a response. “But why would you say you own this?” the student says. “I’m the one who wrote it!”

The teacher simply smiles and says, “Yes, but you used a school computer and printed it on our print-er, so we own it.”

“But what about copyright?” the student asks.

“Yeah, well you did the work in my class, so I’m like your boss,” the teacher answered.

Fuming, the student ponders the law and situation until the end of school, when he darts out of class to check his rights.

Does this situation sound ridiculous? Most people would say yes. Yet that’s exactly the explanation student journalists hear when they’re told the publication, Web site or broadcast owns their pho-tos, videos or stories. The fact is the creator owns the copyright. Unless the students are getting paid for their work — and neither course credit or even cookies count as payment — the individual maintains the ownership. So, if the president comes to town, a student takes an amazing photo of him, and the Associated Press wants to buy it, the student can make money, even if he or she used a school camera to take the photo.

There’s a solution that can preserve the rights of student journalists while also allowing the publica-tion, Web site or broadcast the opportunity to be the first to publish the work and to do so for a pe-riod of time — even after the student has moved or graduated. Each adviser should work with his or her editor or producer to create a contract that spells out the rights and terms of using the student’s work for publication or broadcast. Conveniently, the Student Press Law Center has developed just such a model contract to use as-is or as a guide-line for your own. Even more conveniently, the model contract is available as a PDF to download

at the NSPA Web site under the portion labeled The Wheel, resources you don’t want to reinvent: http://studentpress.org/nspa/wheel.html

At the beginning of each term, review the contract with new staff members and have them sign your contract. A parent will have to sign for a student who is a minor. This practice solves the problem of what to do when a student takes a photo for the

yearbook but wants to post it first on his or her Facebook page. You can mandate

that when working for student media, right of first publication belongs to the publication or broadcast. An added benefit is that students and their parents know the student’s rights, and everyone models the ap-

propriate use of copyrighted images, video and text. And that’s a good les-

son for everyone.

One final suggestion: If students can borrow school equipment like cameras for personal use (taking a senior portrait, a weekend trip, or to a friend’s birth-day party), consider a user agreement between stu-dent/parents and the equipment owner that spells out procedures for check-out and check-in. Re-member to be clear about the condition the equip-ment should be in upon return (cleaned, charged, etc.) and what happens if damage occurs. It’s better to have a policy in place before something occurs than to get stuck with missing or broken equip-ment. The Wheel at NSPA has a few samples to get you started.

Logan Aimone is the executive director of the National Scholastic Press Association.

Students own photo rights

Blend 3

journalism l etiquette

Texting not best optionSure, it’s easy, but conducting an interview via text or instant message can easily lead to lazy reporting. Worse, a reporter might fall into the trap of only interviewing his friends, which is always a problem.

A cell phone can be a great tool when re-porting, but must be used carefully. A re-

porter must not allow technology to create an environment where reporting gets slop-py and an honest-to-goodness face-to-face interview is sacrificed.

Take time to create an interviewing policy. Perhaps an impersonal interview should be the final option?

Can you give me a quote about the game?

Yeah. Just make something up for me.

Are you sure? We get in trouble for making stuff up.

It’s OK, I’m telling you to make something up.

OK. I’ll say something about how you thought it was a great game.

OK that’s fine.

Bad Reporter/Good ReporterBeware text or IM interviews! They often result in lazy reporting and lazy interviewing:

A good reporter uses the text to get the interview subject on the phone or in person.

I am writing an article about the game. Can we talk about it for my story?

Why don’t you just make up a quote in it from me?

I think our audience would really like to hear your thoughts about it. Can I call you, or can we meet up?

ask l kim

Wow! Four great questions came in the mailbag this issue! Let’s get started!

What are the expectations you have for your students who attend JEA/NSPA conventions?

We attend each fall and spring. In fact, we have 16 in Portland, a re-cord for spring attendance!

Our program’s expectations are sim-ple and are the same expectations we have not only at conventions or workshops but also when they are interviewing, photographing, vid-eotaping, editing, etc.

Students are ethical and profession-al representatives of their respective media everywhere they go.

Prior to each convention “season,” we meet with students even before we sign them up and accept de-posits. We go over all expectations and consequences. We ask students who have attended in the past to help with this meeting as they naturally emphasize the privilege of going as a representative of our program. We have a rules sheet that must be signed by both the student attendees and parents as part of the permission process.

Students attend the Thursday Key-note, all sessions Friday and all ses-sions Saturday with one session set aside for lunch each day, and they fill out and turn in a “Top 10 Things I Want to Share with the Staff” sheet for each session. They also compete in Write-offs.

We expect our kids to be polite and serious in the hallways and in the session rooms. (Cell phones off, in-door voices only!) We dress up on Saturday and stay for the entire awards ceremony, supporting the program as well as all students who are honored. Soapbox Time: Truth-fully, the only time I get negative about other programs is during the exodus of those who were in atten-dance at the awards ceremony for

themselves; this adviser thinks kids and adults who talk, text and walk out are rude and doesn’t hesitate to use them as examples. Enough of that sore spot!

Attending a convention is a respon-sibility to our school’s student me-dia and to the audience they serve, not a personal vacation for attend-ees. I am proud to say our kids have lived up to that expectation.

Do you have any favorite games/activities you play with your class when times are stressful?

This is an area I let editors handle most of the time. Every staff LOVES Catchphrase the day after a dead-line. I watched beginning journal-ism kids unwind to Mad Gab and laughed my abs sore! Sometimes, though, even the editors are so stressed that everyone needs to step off and regroup. I tell every-one to bring a pillow the next day. Someone new to staff always asks “Why? Are we going to take a nap?” I don’t answer; the kids who’ve done it before stay mum, too. I keep a couple of spare pillows in the cabi-net for those who forget the next day; few do. After attendance and announcements, I tell kids to get their pillows – yes, I bring one, too, because this activity helps me a bunch! – and we head to a relatively deserted place in the school. We get in a huge circle so we can see each other and only then do I explain the theory of Primal Scream – Media Version. I go over the process: (1) At the count of three we’ll put our fac-es in our pillows and scream, shout, growl, stomp until we wear out. (2) Because everyone is buried in pil-lows participating, no one has to worry about what this will look like to others; in fact, once they get into it, they discover they don’t care! (3) When they finish, they need to look at each other for the magic results. I count to three, bury my face and scream and stomp, as does every-one else. When we look up at each other, we’re smiling and laughing and panting; we’re loose and easy as

we head back in to get back to work. Silly? Yes. Doable? Yes. Results? Ab-solutely worth every minute.

Do you think a knowledge of AP Style is important for a high school journalist?

Absolutely. Our kids get an AP Stylebook as part of their textbooks when they sign up for beginning journalism, and we expect them to use it. Once on staff, they take week-ly quizzes the first quarter to keep it fresh in their minds.

We deviate from it in two rules, however: we use courtesy titles for adults, and we use men’s and wom-en’s when referring to our sports teams. This is a point of contention among some of my adviser friends, and I support their arguments.

That is why we make sure our media kids know that AP Style omits cour-tesy titles and uses boys and girls (apostrophes always seem to bring up discussion points so I’ve omitted them). Those students who go on to study journalism in college know to follow the style determined by the medium for which they write, re-gardless of the fact that in our pro-gram we remain consistently stead-fast in using courtesy titles and distinguishing men’s from women’s sports.

Any tips for how to stay ahead of the game during the summer?

Yes! First, attend a summer work-shop and encourage your class-mates to join you. There is no better time to learn, grow and bond.

Also, keep a clip file of great stories and designs you see. Use this file next fall when you are struggling to come up with an idea.

Finally, read and write. Reading makes you write better, so naturally, you should also write. If you haven’t started your own blog, perhaps this is the best time to begin!

Expectations top mailbag

Kim Green directs the student publications at Columbus (Ind.) North High School. A 2006 Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Distinguished Adviser of the Year and 2009 JEA Distinguished Yearbook Adviser of the Year, the publications Green’s stu-dents create are consistent award winners.

Blend 5

little birdtold me

how social networking sitescan help your publication

a

6 Blend

By now, we have all at least heard about

twitter and facebook. but beyond tweets and

status updates, what is social media?

Social media is really a set of tools and

techniques that are used by individuals

to engage in “community-like” activities.

Tweets and status updates are simply

ways that social media tools can be

used to advance relationships and

connections with others. There are

certainly additional ways to maintain

and grow relationships using online

tools that are evolving at this very

moment. Each tool evolves out of our

community’s obsession with being

personal and always “on.”

Find out more...

we asked ball state instructor

of telecommunications John Girton about the powers of social media

Blend 7

why should journalists be concerned with social media?The tools being used to increase communal connections and express creativity have as much potential to relay journalistic content. The question is how will the journalistic dis-cipline come to use these tools and will the discipline mature along with the changes in technology and the reach of global coverage of information. If the discipline doesn’t go with the flow, then I believe that users will put on their “backpacks” and take the flow into their own hands.

how can the media industry use social media to connect with

readers?Media involves more than what is being read. That’s the beauty of social media. People can get involved in the creation, translation and distribution of each bit of information that is being shared industry wide. At the end of the day the media industry has to get comfortable with the speed with which information can flow from creator to reader and the problems

that such fast consumption can create. Ulti-mately, the media industry has a great op-portunity to allow readers and watchers alike to become fully engaged participants in the information that is consumed.

how can students use social media to generate story ideas

for high school publications?Search, search, search. Verify, verify, verify. Compile, compile, compile. Produce, produce, produce. Archive, archive, archive.

what are some ways in which the professional press is using social media as an interviewing

or research tool?Connections made through social media sites allow professionals to meet and engage real people each day. Some are using these con-nections to pitch story ideas, find subject mat-ter experts, and even gain product or service feedback for research.

ball state instructor

of telecommunications John Girton explains the powers of social media

8 Blend

how can schools take advantage of smart phones and the ipod touch to support their publications?Depending on who you ask, smart phones are either a savior (financially) or a threat. I believe they are only as powerful of a tool as we make them for educational purposes. Education isn’t getting any cheaper anytime soon. That said, I believe that schools can use the ubiquitous nature of smart phones and iPods along with the innovation of education-al apps to expand opportunities to evaluate and increase educational effectiveness. Smart phones are as close as it gets to carrying a book bag around with you 24/7. Think about it, what if these tools could also take a critical seat at the reading, math, or science achieve-ment goals, by utilizing iPod apps as evalu-ation and measurement tools. Imagine positively impacting the school resource gaps between cash strapped schools who have difficulties with students being able to afford quality publications by offering a de-vice that cuts down on paper, cost, shipping, versioning, etc.

what tips do you have for students interested in pursuing a career in this area of communication?Get ready to learn, unlearn and relearn. The industry is changing and evolving so quickly so no one has time to think about exactly what they want to do in the field and how. You just have to jump in, learn as much as you can and then be prepared to quickly unlearn what you just learned to go and learn some-thing new.

John Girton is an instructor of Journalism and Telecommunications at Ball State University. He has launched, owned and operated small businesses for more than 25 years.

Blend 9

Adviser Kathy Habiger gives us a look into her suburban Kansas City, Kan. classroom

THIS CHECK OUT

NEWSROOM A wide shot of the room shows rows of 24 PCs and students in various states of work.

10 Blend

A wide shot of the room shows rows of 24 PCs and students in various states of work.

Blend 11

12 Blend

Mill Valley High School, located in Shawnee, Kan., opened in the fall of 2000. The school is currently undergoing an expansion.

Fun

Acknowledgement

“Some unofficial mascots guard our mailboxes. Some play music. Annoying music. Yes, those are

ground hogs in the front row. These are leftovers from our annual White Elephant Gift Exchange.”

“On the walls are plaques acknowledg-ing the hard work of the publication staffs through the years,” Habiger said.

12 Blend

Kathy Habiger advises the award-winning JAG yearbook and JagWire newspaper. The school mascot is the jaguar and the colors are silver and blue.

Communication

Equipment Check Out“With 15 staff photographers, it’s some-times hard to remember which initials belong to which student on the camera check out calendar. There’s a separate check out for our extra lenses: Winkie, Tinkie, Mickey, Minnie and Sasquatch.”

“Our wipe board is the center of communication. Students leave notes for each other, and I communicate a daily agenda and other important items to classes each day. Yes, that’s my face on that board. It was inspired by the large faces of college basketball players and coaches that fans often hold up at basketball games. I’m like the Bill Self of the journalism room, I guess.”

Blend 13

With deadlines approaching and so many students counting on her, you might think high school teacher and yearbook adviser Nancy Kuei would look a bit more tense.

Fortunately, with her Herff Jones representative by her side, Nancy has it all under control. By working hard to identify and solve her challenges, we help Nancy rise above the day-to-day stress so she can focus on her students.

Our experienced representatives understand the small things that make each yearbook special. We get to know the school’s unique culture and share a genuine concern for the students. Then we manage the details, deliver advice and do whatever it takes to make the yearbook unforgettable for the students, the faculty…and for Nancy, too.

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE WHITEPAPER ON THE KEY ROLE COCURRICULAR ACTIVITIESPLAY IN STUDENT GROWTH AT HERFFJONES.COM/INSIGHT

SHE DOESN’T LOOK LIKEA LADY WITH 129 KIDS.

herffjones.com/insight

© 2010 Her� Jones, Inc.

NANCY KUEIYEARBOOK ADVISER

23954_Blend_Kuei_85x11_Summer10_r3.indd 1-2 3/8/10 12:50 PM

With deadlines approaching and so many students counting on her, you might think high school teacher and yearbook adviser Nancy Kuei would look a bit more tense.

Fortunately, with her Herff Jones representative by her side, Nancy has it all under control. By working hard to identify and solve her challenges, we help Nancy rise above the day-to-day stress so she can focus on her students.

Our experienced representatives understand the small things that make each yearbook special. We get to know the school’s unique culture and share a genuine concern for the students. Then we manage the details, deliver advice and do whatever it takes to make the yearbook unforgettable for the students, the faculty…and for Nancy, too.

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE WHITEPAPER ON THE KEY ROLE COCURRICULAR ACTIVITIESPLAY IN STUDENT GROWTH AT HERFFJONES.COM/INSIGHT

SHE DOESN’T LOOK LIKEA LADY WITH 129 KIDS.

herffjones.com/insight

© 2010 Her� Jones, Inc.

NANCY KUEIYEARBOOK ADVISER

23954_Blend_Kuei_85x11_Summer10_r3.indd 1-2 3/8/10 12:50 PM

SuPErLATiVeS by

sarah nichols

we’re going there...

PT by sarah nichols

it’s almost funny how the topic of superlatives in high school yearbooks is just about as polarizing as health care reform. Since you’re the expert on your school and the expectations of your readers, this isn’t an attempt to sway you in either direction. Consider this article a discussion-starter for your staff since you should con-stantly question the process and purpose of everything you do in a yearbook.

Here’s my disclaimer: The Details staff includes superlatives in each volume. Our readers want them. I used to be embarrassed that we did them, but I supported my students’ rationale. Now I’m proud that my staff knows its readers, addresses their wants/needs and uses superlatives as another way to build reader-relevant, all-inclusive coverage. Sure, superlatives are primarily for entertainment. What’s wrong with that? With readership declining in every form of printed media for our targeted age group, is upping the entertainment value such a bad idea? There’s a business to yearbook — if you don’t sell books, they will die. The key, of course, is to build upon that entertainment value and connect to the book’s role as a his-tory book. If you’re doing superlatives, link them to this year in particular as a way to date the trends and popular culture relevant to your school community. “Most Athletic” doesn’t mean nearly as much to this year’s history as “Most Likely to Wait in Line at Midnight to See the First ‘New Moon’ Showing.”

Blend 17

If you include superlatives, how can you make them relevant? Creating relevant superlatives starts with the categories, so here are a few things to keep in mind:

> Consider the yearbook’s purpose (his-tory, reference, memory) as you would for all other content/coverage decisions.

> Stay away from popularity coverage.

> This isn’t exactly news coverage, so don’t let it dominate the book. Keep it simple and out of the spotlight.

> If the book is truly dating the year, use contemporary categories (Most Addict-ed to Farmville on Facebook, Most Likely to Audition for “American Idol”) and link to popular culture.

> Consider letting kids write their own (positive, fun, reader-generated). This will eliminate complaints over winners/losers. Just make sure you have a verifi-cation process to ensure that what gets turned in is actually from the person it says.

> Stay away from physical categories — high school is cruel enough.

> Try not to overlap with other parts of the book: If you do an Academic Top 10 or other similar awards lists, how will this differ?

> Keep asking yourselves: Is this a cov-erage opportunity to reach other kinds of kids at your school or simply repeat exposure of the kids already overcov-ered?

Ash a Wut yearbookGabrielino High SchoolSan Gabriel, Calif.

Stay Relevant »

»

18 Blend

El Paisano yearbookWestlake High SchoolAustin, Texas

»

Blend 19

The Hauberk yearbookShawnee Mission East High SchoolPrairie Village, Kan. »

»

20 Blend

How do you know if your readers want superlatives?

> Ask, of course! Just make sure that the method by which you ask is systematic and widely advertised. If a department on campus is willing to distribute surveys for you, create a questionnaire asking students to rate the importance of superlatives in the yearbook. Make sure to ask enough questions to get meaningful feedback. Here are a few to consider:

> On a scale of 1-5 with 1 being least important... Strongly agree - agree - no opinion - disagree - strongly disagree

> Senior superlatives are an important part of the yearbook. > Senior superlatives are a tradition that should continue. > Senior superlatives should be done by student nomination. > Superlatives should extend to all grade levels at our school. > Students should be limited to winning only one superlative title. > Senior superlatives should be decided by all grade levels in a voting process. > I am more likely to purchase a yearbook because of senior superlatives. > I would be more likely to purchase a yearbook all four years if superlatives applied to all grade levels. > I would submit a suggestion for superlative categories if provided the opportunity. > I like the categories from last year’s senior superlatives in the yearbook. > I would like to see the categories for superlatives change each year to feel fresh and timely. > I would like to see the same categories used each year to maintain an important school tradition. > I think senior superlatives only apply to a select group of students. > I think the yearbook would be better without senior superlatives. > Senior superlatives are conducted fairly at our school. > Senior superlatives should not be in the yearbook. > Senior superlatives should be in the yearbook but need more categories. > Once you’re sure your readers want or expect to see superlatives in the book, you have a responsibility to ful-fill. Require sufficient turnout for results worth reporting. If the votes represent only a small portion of the senior class, how accurate are the results? Set a minimum and stick to it. If your standard for other staff polls and surveys is 10 percent of your student population, that’s a good place to start. You’ll have a better turnout, however, if you find a way to access all students at once.

The HawkPleasant Grove High SchoolTexarkana, Texas

Give them what they want »

»

Blend 21

What to do when you have the completed ballots:

> Count them. Make sure you have enough to be considered a valid representation. If not enough people are voting, it’s time to conduct better research on your readers’ wants and needs.

> Store them someplace secure and limit the number of people who have access.

> If you used paper ballots, cut them into pieces or strips, separating each category so multiple superlatives can be tallied at once. You want to determine the results as quickly as possible so the ballots can again be locked away.

> Make counting semi-public among your yearbook staff. For example, the students counting our ballots have tally sheets and sit at a large round table in the classroom where others can see what’s happening, even though they aren’t directly involved. Work with a partner. Double-check for accuracy. Don’t let anything happen in private.

> Keep the results secret. If you choose to do photo coverage of the winners or finalists, you can explain to these students that they’ve been selected for one of the categories as a possible nominee without disclosing the exact category or result.

The Hornet yearbookBryant High SchoolBryant, Ark.

Get a better response »

»> Design to match the book. Consider repeat-ing a special photo treatment or graphic effect for visual unity.

> Relate the headline to the book’s concept, if possible. A label headline here is just as weak as elsewhere in your book.

> Show or list the runners-up. An infographic would include exact count or percentages, so that’s an idea. Even just listing names of the other top nominees will expand your cover-age and feature more students in the book.

> Instead of quoting the winners, get a quote from someone ABOUT the winner. Again, this includes more students in the book and offers a wider range of perspectives.

> Limit the space. Don’t be afraid to go small.

>Provide complete source information, as you would for any poll or survey. Indicate how the voting took place, when, how many students participated, etc.

Give it a look »

Ideas for getting a better response: > Distribute ballots in a required senior-spe-cific course, such as English or government. Depending on your school schedule, this will enable you to hit every senior in the same day or within a two-day period and you’ll be sure no student had an opportunity to vote twice. If you want to go the extra mile, meet with those teachers afterward to see who was absent from class that day and hand-deliver a ballot to those select students.

> Utilize resources from your student govern-ment (StuCo, leadership, ASB, student council). Surely the school has a system in place for other election activities, such as Homecoming court or class officers. At our school, we have voting booths and a process by which stu-dents check in using their student ID cards to cast their vote. Kids already know the process and it runs quickly and smoothly during lunch.

> An online voting system, if secure, is great since it handles the tabulation process for you. A couple of considerations: Make sure all students have equal access to the voting site. Provide opportunities on campus during the school day so that all eligible voters are included. Make sure settings are secure for no repeat voting (either by using a login code or other method).

> Caution for using social networking: don’t. You don’t know who is logged on and how accurate it is (with so many students shar-ing passwords or letting others use their accounts) and not everyone uses Facebook, so you’d need another method anyway. And if you’re using another method as well, then how can you be sure the person didn’t vote twice?

Keep it a secret, but not too secret »

Consider these suggestions for the look of your superlatives coverage

22 Blend

The Hornet yearbookBryant High SchoolBryant, Ark.

The Wingspan yearbookJames C. Enochs High SchoolModesto, Calif.

»

Blend 23

CO

UR

AG

E

the story of one editor and his fight to distributeby Michael Majchrowicz

photo by Kelleigh Romba

26 Blend

Michael Majchrowicz is editor of The Scout, Lake Central (Schererville, Ind.) High School’s newspaper. Here is his account of having his paper taken off the news stands.

Just to start things off, The Scout is a student-produced newspaper under prior review. All pages are sent to the head principal’s office each issue. From there, she reads and looks over all material, and if she doesn’t believe something to be appropriate, then we must remove it.

Production on our Febru-ary issue started out just like every other issue. We had just finished up on deadline, noth-ing was different. Scaled pages were printed off and pieced together. The pages were then delivered to our head principal for prior review. We received the pages back from the head principal, and nothing directly had been pointed out on any of the stories.

As the editor-in-chief, I penned the staff editorial endorsing the much talked about resignation of our high school’s former football coach.

The story, gleaming at the top of the page, to my surprise had made it through prior review. There was literally nothing written, not a single pen mark, on the editorial dur-ing review.

I later went to send the pages down to print and for everything to run. The issue was released, and as far as I was able to tell, everything looked pretty good. While I sat in class, and while my ad-viser was in a class of her own,

an administrator made his way into my adviser’s class-room.

He asked my adviser for all of the newspapers imme-diately, claiming that there was a factual error within the editorial.

My adviser respectfully refused, and reminded this particular administrator that

we are under prior review to begin with. Also note, there were no factual errors within the piece. The administrator left the classroom and began confiscating all of the newspa-pers off the stands, instructing others to do so as well.

I sat in on meeting after meeting concerning the con-fiscation, and eventually with the superintendent himself.

After being asked what I believed the mission statement of a student news-paper was, I an-swered “to tell the truth.” I was told to my face I was wrong.

I was sick of being patron-ized and so was my newspaper staff. After serious thought, I made the executive decision that I was going to take this matter to the outside press.

The local newspapers ran with the story. We became front page news.

I decided that it would be best to address the board of education because I yearned for some sort of response. The administration literally fell silent after I issued the press release.

This is what scared me the most — why hadn’t they said anything?

As the board of education meeting drew closer, I decided to rally student support via social networking sites like Facebook.

The overall response from students and supporters alike was pleasantly overwhelming.

I created an events page for the board of education meeting, which reached more than 100 confirmed guests.

About 100 people were present at the meeting the following night. About 11 or so of them made speeches, including myself.

The administration simply

stated that the prior review process was to be reviewed. We were stumped.

Later the next week, I was called out of my history class to the principal’s office. Two administrators sat in chairs adjacent to me, and stared solemnly for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, they spoke up and informed me that the board decided to put

the newspapers back on the stands. I was absolutely elated. News spread quickly, and by the time the newspapers were put back on stands, they were already gone. Eager students cleared the news stands within a day.

Ironically, the next month, as an officer on the board of the IHSPA, I spoke at the an-nual First Amendment Sympo-sium on the topic of Freedom of Press.

Our rights are challenged and brought into question every so often. It is up to us fellow journalists, to push aside ignorance and to fight for what we know is right, not only by what our journal-istic training and education textbooks have offered us, but by the manner in which our hearts and minds lead us everyday.

Truth conquers, and the Freedom of the Press shall always prevail.

Because of his dedication, Michael received a special “Courage” award from the Indiana High School Press Association in February. The award was presented at the IHSPA’s First Amendment Symposium at the Indiana Statehouse. Michael’s adviser is Carrie Wadycki.

Previous spread: IHSPA executive director Diana Hadley announces Michael’s “Courage” award as his adviser, Carrie Wadycki, presents him with a plaque.

CO

UR

AG

E

STUDENTS + ADVISERScompetitively priced • award-winning faculty • state-of-the-art facilities

great class options • advisers: earn graduate credit or CRU’s

FIND OUT MORE AT BSUJOURNALISMWORKSHOPS.COM

July 25-29 and July 30-Aug.1 June 18-20 and June 25-27

INTENSEBALL STATE SUMMER 2010 JOURNALISM WORKSHOPS

STUDENTS + ADVISERScompetitively priced • award-winning faculty • state-of-the-art facilities

great class options • advisers: earn graduate credit or CRU’s

FIND OUT MORE AT BSUJOURNALISMWORKSHOPS.COM

July 25-29 and July 30-Aug.1 June 18-20 and June 25-27

INTENSEBALL STATE SUMMER 2010 JOURNALISM WORKSHOPS

Join us on campus at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for The Long Weekend journalism camp June 18-20, open to middle or high school students. For more information, contact ASPA at aspa@ua.edu or visit the Web site at www.aspa.ua.edu.

The Long WeekendFocus on Journalism

my story l Jimmy Hibsch

I always knew I did not fit in, but I was not ready to do anything about it until high school.

I saw middle school as a mold. Since I was not the most social person, I latched onto the “jock” group. They led the life of what is expected of a typical prepubescent boy – playing sports, causing trouble.

I knew I did not fit in, but I was too quiet and too nervous to venture out of the norm. Essentially, I was a follower.

I was determined high school would be differ-ent, but I knew I was going to have to find the courage to change that.

The summer before my freshman year, all of my friends were signed up for football camp. True to my “follower” nature, I signed myself up as well.

However, about halfway through the camp, I re-alized that I no longer wanted to live the “jock” life that I had engaged the last several years. That was the end of football.

I instead signed up for the newspaper, despite being told I was committing “social suicide.” I did not care. It was something different and unique; something that would make me stand out.

During my first few weeks in class – let’s be honest. I hated it. I was failing. Take me: a for-mer straight-A student who had barely enough courage to talk to a classmate, let alone a com-plete stranger, and toss me into the journalism class. I was totally out of my element.

But soon after I began to notice the dynamics of the group. We had the melodramatic photog-rapher, the tense Valedictorian, the grim Goth, among others.

There was only one aspect between myself and these students that kept us from being com-plete polar opposites: our passions for writing.

The newspaper staff members were anything but the type I had previously associated with, but they became some of my closest and most memorable friends throughout my high school years.

The newspaper gave me a chance to break out of my shell. Before joining The Pacer, I was a qui-et, timid, unpopular student who had always hid in the shadows of school. The newspaper put me in the spotlight.

I have become practically fearless.

If I need a source for a story, I am comfortable calling the Secretary of State’s press secretary to schedule an interview. If a story comes up last minute, I am comfortable interviewing two sur-vivors of the Northern Illinois University shoot-ing on a moment’s notice.

If I am on an assignment, I am comfortable at-tending a Latino dance show where I know that I will be the only caucasian present. If some-thing controversial is occurring in the school, I am comfortable exposing it.

Typical high school students are not comfort-able pursuing these opportunities. A good journalist, however, is the furthest thing from a “typical high school student.”

The newspaper completely transformed me.

My dream for high school was to break out of my shell, and I realized I may have to sacrifice friends and popularity to fulfill it.

I never realized how many positives would spawn after breaking from the “norm.” As I was called down to the center of the gym with al-most the entire school chanting my name and applauding to congratulate me on my Illinois Journalist of the Year award, I learned that peoples’ respect is not limited to the star ath-lete – people respect peers who hold a passion, regardless of its focus.

Journalism changed my life.

How journalism changed my life

Jimmy Hibsch is Editor-in-Chief of The Pacer, the school newspaper at Rolling Mead-ows High School in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. He is the Illinois Journalism Education Association’s 2010 Scholastic Journalist of the Year and has been named to the IJEA’s All-state Journalism team in 2008 and 2009. A senior, Hibsch will attend the University of Mis-souri starting in September.

28 Blend

READY TO HOP ON THE BANDWIDTH-WAGON?

Need a Web site?Let us help!

for more informationand to apply, visitwww.bsujournalismworkshops.com

Make the transition to the Web at our free, three-day weekend workshop! Supported by a generous grant from the McCormick Foundation, you’ll leave Ball State having set up a basic publications Web site you and your students can use immediately. All advisers are welcome to apply! The deadline to apply is May 21, 2010.

GET ONLINE

start your upload.

(IT’S FREE!)June 18-20, 2010

Scholarships available exclusively to NSPA members.

Check out our Web site for more details and updates: NSPA.STUDENTPRESS.ORG.

Redesign for the 21st Century

Photojournalism and Multimedia

Advanced Writing

Editorial Leadership

Advising Publications

NATiONAl SchOlASTic PRESS ASSOciATiONSummer Journalism WorkshopsJuly 15-17, 2010University of Minnesota Minneapolis

Join us this summer, and be ready to start the year!

INTENSE & IN FOCUS. NSPA will expose students to what’s hot in journalism. Whether you need the basic skills or have been around a while, our talented instructors will help you get better.

LEarN by ObSErvINg, dOINg, INTEraCTINg. We’ve assembled the Twin Cities’ top names in media for general and breakout sessions.

LaNd OF 10,000 IdEaS. We’ll work you hard but not without opportunities for fun. Meet peers from across the country. Enjoy your stay on a large college campus in the heart of the Twin Cities. Get the most from the workshop by bringing the whole crew — we have discounts for groups over five and over 10.

Journalism is changing, and

successful students and advisers

know the value of attending a

summer workshop designed to

train, motivate and inspire for

the challenges of what comes

next. Join us in Minneapolis this

summer to stay ahead of the

curve and on top of new skills.

WorkShoPS

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit 314Mpls. MN

National Scholastic Press Association2221 University Ave SE, Suite 121Minneapolis, MN 55414

Blend is published by the Secondary Educational Services office at Ball State University. NSPA is mailing complimentary copies of Blend to its members as a benefit of membership.

blend winter 10 back cover.indd 1 3/24/10 8:39:02 PM