A Reflection On My News Writing Class (CDAE121)

This class has provided me with the tools, structure and opportunity to expand my writing. News writing is a style of writing that I was a novice to. When I first learned about the technique I thought it was stripped of all creativity, but then learned it is just a different type of creativity than I was used to. It forces you to be creative passed the keyboard. A good journalist is creative in finding stories, interviewing people, retrieving information and so on.

I learned how to write concisely and objectively through this class. I struggled with the organization and layout of the information I offered in most of my articles. Needing to keep the paragraphs short made it difficult for me to keep my writing organized. For example, I was very happy with the topic and information I retrieved from interviews for my “Women Struggling In Politics: SGA” story, but felt I portrayed the information in a muddled manner through my writing.

Conscious of this writing weakness of mine, I worked hard on my last story, “Outsourced Ingredient Used to Make a Local Product” to write it as coherently as possible. I’ve learned how important coherency is because people read news to read and understand the news. As a news writer, you have to make your writing as clear, short, organized, coherent and easy to read as possible. You also need to write at a 5^th grade reading level, as to not exclude any readers for lack of competency.

Something I’ve really enjoyed about these assignments was finding a story through interviews and research. If you find the right person to interview, they can supply you with a wealth of knowledge. Choosing what to include and what not to include from the interview is important because it shapes the story. This is where the question about true objectivity comes in, because a writer can use objective words but still sway the story by consciously using and not using specific information. This is another reason why it is important to interview people who might have opposing views, so you’re not getting a biased story.

Learning the rules and foundation of news writing has caused me to critique other writers. I have found that many news writers use words that fail to be objective. As a reader, I am glad to realize this so I can think more critically when reading the news.

Through my own experiences this semester, I’ve found it to be much more difficult to be objective when you’re writing about something you care strongly about. It is possible, but just more difficult. I understand more the politics of news writing, such as how you shouldn’t have a journalist write something they are involved with or biased towards.

I felt like this class was a somewhat good representation of what working at a newspaper might feel like. We had to complete stories by a deadline, which turned out to be very hectic at times. It was especially hectic when you’re waiting on an interview. This is because you can’t start the story beforehand, since the interview can completely change or alter what you thought your story was even going to be.

An important thing I learned is that as a news writer, you can’t create the story, or even choose what the story is, you have to find the pre-existing pieces and then simply tell the story.

Outsourced Ingredient Used to Make a Local Product

Vermont, “land of the local,” has more craft breweries per capita than any other state, according to the National Brewers Association.

Hops, the necessary plant used to produce beer, does not grow well in the Northeast anymore, according to Lilly Calderwood, a PhD student at UVM conducting research for UVM’s Hops project.

Instead of continuing to outsource hops from the west, the UVM Extension’s Hops Project is currently developing an outreach and applied research program to grow hops locally.

Vermont used to be a top producer of hops in the mid 1800s until pests, diseases, competition and prohibition brought the hops harvests to a sharp decline, according to the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan.

“Vermont stopped being a big hops producer for a number of reasons,” said Calderwood.

She said that people wanted hops to be grown out west in the late 1800s because they could grow more of them in a larger space. The mechanization of agriculture was also increasing out there, and pest and fungal diseases became a big problem in the east.

Now, with the growth of the craft brewery industry in Vermont, the demand for local hops has increased, according to Dr. Heather Darby, a major leader in the UVM Hops program.

“Vermont is somewhat unique in that people have a great connection to their food and to the concept of buying local, and this transcends into beer too,” said Todd Pritchard, the professor of a beer brewing class on campus (NFS 33).

The Hops Project expands all throughout the northeast, explains Calderwood. The Northeast Hops Alliance (NEHA) is an organization that allows hops farmers and researchers to communicate on pest and other agronomic issues to collectively advance their growing practices.

With a goal to develop hop agriculture practices in the Northeast, the UVM Hops program received funding from the USDA Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative grant as well as support from Michigan State University, according to Darby.

The craft brew scene in VT is large, and still growing: with 29 Vermont brewers, the Vermont Brewers Association is about to gain one more: Burlington Beer Company. The project to build a brewery here in Burlington has been officially funded on Saturday, according to Joe Lemnah, Burlington Beer Company’s creator.

Craft Breweries do well in Vermont because there is such a demand by consumers for local goods, according to Calderwood.

“The local breweries here call themselves local, but they are not locally sourced ingredients,” said Calderwood.

Calderwood went on to explain the demand for local hops are high, and that anyone who grows hops in the east sells them before their even grown, because there is so much support by the craft breweries.

Despite this support, all Vermont craft breweries, according to Calderwood, have to buy at least some hops from the west because there are simply not enough grown here to meet their demand.

According to the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan, Vermont’s craft beer industry is in a “strong and growing position.” They mentioned ways to facilitate this growth: hops farmers to continue their growing research and education, increase marketing and distribution of craft beers.

Not only are there a lot of breweries, but these breweries are getting national attention! According to BeerAdvocate, a global, grassroots network of beer enthusiasts and professionals, The Alchemist Brewery’s Heady Topper is currently ranked the best beer in the world.

Burlington restaurants support the craft breweries by serving a variety of them. According to Farm House restaurant employee Claire Longyear, Farm House serves many craft brewed beers because it goes alongside their mission to support local businesses.

“Customers tend to order craft brews over mainstream options because these local beers have become a huge part of Vermont’s culture,” said Longyear.

Women Struggling In Politics: SGA

Much like there is a higher male presence in the federal government, there is a higher male presence in the executive group in the student government here at UVM.

Claire Longyear resigned from her position as the Chair of the Academic Affairs committee at the SGA about two weeks ago.

She said she quit because of a couple gender discrimination issues. She said she felt she wasn’t being heard and wasn’t treated as an equal to the male SGA members.

“In various situations I would make suggestions and would be interrupted by some of the men. Then when the subject came up again they would often come up with the same conclusions that I would, but they would be heard and I wasn’t. I felt belittled and underappreciate,” Longyear said.

A specific instance Longyear talked about was when she accompanied a memo from her and her committee with a cover letter she personally wrote to be sent via e-mail to a group of administrators regarding a student issue.

She said the cover letter became the focal point of the conversations that came after sending the e-mail; when the memo was suppose to be. She said they called her cover letter “emotional and abrasive.”

Among the many male recipients, Longyear only received one reply, she said. President Sullivan received the administrators’ feedback and told Longyear that they were “taken aback” by the cover letter, according to Longyear.

“The conclusions I drew from that was that because I am a woman, sending this out, it was immediately aggressive, emotional, too much vocalization of issues and they just didn’t want to deal with that,” said Longyear.

Another specific instance Longyear addressed was when President Sullivan attended one of the SGA’s meetings on Oct. 2nd. At this meeting, Longyear said all of the men of the executive committee were dressed in business suits.

She felt this created a conscious discrepancy between the “white males that are in charge of the body” and everyone else, she said.

“It was the inner circle of the executive committee that so prevalently dressed up. They didn’t send out any e-mails to the body saying, ‘Hey, the President is coming, dress professionally if you want to’,” said Longyear.

When Connor Daley, SGA President, was asked about the attire of SGA members on that particular night, he said that is was the fault of senior members of the senate. This is because historically when the president came people have dressed up. He said this was not communicated to the newer members.

According to Daley the ratio of male to female SGA members is about even. According to the Cynic, Kesha Ram is the last female SGA president and she held office in 2007.

According to Jordan Redell, the Chair of one of the SGA committees, only two out of 11 people in the executive group are female.

Redell said that if there were more women leaders in SGA women senators might contribute more during discussions on their Tuesday meetings.

“I want to make sure we are creating safe spaces for women,” said Redell.

As a result to that, Redell is currently planning a women and leadership retreat to empower women to apply for the leadership positions in SGA.

This retreat would include workshops on how to run campaigns, committees, conversations about how women can struggle in politics, and student leadership workshops. It is planned to happen at the beginning of next semester, said Redell.

“We haven’t had a women run for president in a long time,” said Redell. When asked why, she said, “I think it’s more of the climate on campus more than anything else. It’s a larger-picture problem than SGA.”

Redell went on to blame a lack of education for gender biases around campus. The purpose of the D1 and D2 classes was to ensure students understood how important social justice is, according to Redell.

She said that since students are not required to take them within their first years, there are a lot of people who don’t understand how important gender equity is.

“I think what might have prevented more females seeking SGA executive positions is maybe an environment at UVM where women might not feel empowered enough to seek those positions,” said Daley.

When Redell was asked about her own experiences being a woman in politics she said, “There have been times when I feel like people aren’t hearing what I’m saying as much as I’d like them to, but I think it’s not something that’s isolated to just SGA.”

Despite the even ratio of male to female students on the senate, women are not properly represented in the executive group, according to Redell. Longyear says that the executive group holds the most power in SGA.

Redell hopes to relieve this misrepresentation through planned workshops. 

Claire Longyear, Former SGA Chair of Academic Affairs Committee.

McGovern Challenges Societal Views

 

Maura McGovern calls herself a “Radical” concerning her political views and activism on the UVM campus.

She is a senior at UVM, studying Gender, Sexuality, Women’s Studies and Studio Art. Aligning with her studies, McGovern is the President of UVM’s feminist club: C.U.N.T.S. (College Undergraduates Not Tolerating Sexism).

Beyond the club, McGovern has her own specific interests regarding sexism. These issues, she said, are women’s issues in the media. This includes gender representation, advertising and body standards set forth by the media.

“A main goal of mine is really to just help people, especially those struggling with body image issues,” said McGovern.

Women are often used as sex objects for the means of selling something in an advertisement, said McGovern. “Sex appeal” is a practice well known and used among marketers, she said.

The archetypal female seen in media is portrayed as a thin, flawless, sexy woman, that creates severe body image problems in many young women, said McGovern.

Women feel like they need to conform to this archetype rather than expressing their individuality, she said.

McGovern says it is a societal problem that women are seen this way and diversity and acceptance among the public should be a more sought after goal.

McGovern went to a convention in California this past summer regarding sexism. A group of activists all over the world congregated there to speak about current issues, ideas to settle these issues, and heard from various speakers.

“It was really inspiring to be around such motivated people who actively care about these social problems our world is facing,” said McGovern.

This is her first year as C.U.N.T.S. president, because last year’s president graduated. She said she likes being so involved because it is something she truly cares about.

C.U.N.T.S. meets every Tuesday at 6:30p.m. and always welcomes new members, said McGovern. Currently the club contains roughly seven to ten members. Maura has been involved in the group for the majority of her duration of time at UVM. 

UVM C.U.N.T.S. Make a Name For Themselves

The UVM Feminist club, who changed their name to C.U.N.T.S. (College Undergraduates Not Tolerating Sexism), strives to create a safe environment for all human beings, with a focus on sexism and gender equality.

An issue they face on campus concerns their name change. They have received backlash from the UVM community regarding their new, “radical” name, said club President Maura McGovern.

“People seem to be offended by our new name which is disappointing because we only present ourselves in a positive fashion,” said Maura.

The club meets every Tuesday at 6:30P.M. in the Women’s Center on South Williams St.

The Women’s Center is extremely under funded with only about $2,000 given to them annually from the SGA, said Maura. She said there is more of a focus on science and technology, and that the humanities suffer from this. She went on to say that this affects the student body’s diversity too.

“UVM is suppose to be this liberal, open place, but sometimes doesn’t own up to that standard,” said Maura.

C.U.N.T.S. has to do their own fundraising if they want money for something because the SGA doesn’t financially support them, said Maura.

Oct. 15^th I walked into the Women’s Center and felt warm from the heated air and yellow walls. The scent of peppermint tea and honey slowly made it’s way from the kitchen to the rest of the building.

As I walked around I noticed the walls were full of motivational quotes, advice, and hotline numbers. The bathroom walls were covered with “positive graffiti” where numerous people contributed.

At the start of the meeting on Oct. 15^th the club members joined one another on blue armchairs and maroon couches circling an antique coffee table. They went around in a circle stating their name, preferred pronoun, and a positive or negative “vent” about the week.

“I think that my club functions as an important safe space on campus, a place where people feel like they can come and talk about any issues or problems they might be having and be in a community that will help them and support them,” said Maura.

Another group member said, “I get to come here and feel safe, as opposed to Student Climate Culture which is very white male dominated.”

A project they spoke about on the Oct. 15^th meeting was called the “clothesline project” which is a campaign for awareness of domestic violence. They plan to make t-shirts to hang up as a visual for this campaign.

“I hate the idea of hanging bras up for breast cancer awareness because it’s a total objectification of women’s bodies,” said one of the club members when the topic arose.

Another event they’re planning for the near future is a film screening of “Tough Guys.” They plan to bake genital shaped goods to sell at the screening as a fundraising technique.

An idea they had is to team up with an environmental club and make reusable menstrual pads to send to women in developing countries. According to a group member, many girls in the developing world stay home from school during their menstrual cycle because they don’t have pads or tampons.

“Yeah, that would be a really cool eco-feminism thing to do,” said a club member in response to the idea.

“It’s hard to connect with other clubs because we’re such a minority on campus,” responded Maura.

According to Maura, one of their most successful events was the Vagina Monologues. They wish to do more stuff like that to obtain a bigger presence at the UVM campus, she said.

Maura McGovern, photographed above, is the C.U.N.T.S. president.