The Enduring Battle Between Students & Universities: Journalism Class Asks Why? 

Biddeford, ME – In last Friday’s Journalism class located at the University of New England’s Marcil Hall, students conducted a newsroom-style pitch session for their upcoming feature story assignment, and an unmistakable theme emerged. 

For one semester, these students are tasked with stepping into the shoes of a journalist. The semester is just beginning to ramp up from conversations on the role and importance of journalism to now attempting the hands-on craft themselves with a feature story pitch session. However, the conversation soon turned to that age-old clash between students and their institutions. Whether it’s Aristotle complaining about Platonic Academy’s facilities in the 4th century BC or a 2024 UNE student trudging from the Forum parking lot to Decary Hall, you have grievances to air. With no topic requirements for this feature, the classroom began picking up on a recurring theme of just where UNE’s money is going. Whether sports, residential halls, staffing, or bookstore prices, students are adamant about transparency and accountability on behalf of the administration. 

As associate teaching professor Jesse Miller, M.F.A (he/him), a cornerstone of UNE’s writing and communications program for 15 years, said, “The complexities of higher education systems begin when the business of education meets the academic.” 

Never without an element of humor, the class can understand the role of a journalist in those very instances they discuss through their pitches with some moments of casual riffing. Junior Environmental Studies major Brady Spring (he/him) adds “Bummer of the Century” while discussing potential headlines about school safety issues. Nonetheless, the interactive circle regroups with news-room style quickness and is off on the next pitch.

The students of Introduction to Journalism have gotten a taste of the stories waiting to be detected all around them and hit the core of those timeless tensions within higher education. In maintaining the goal of the class to balance both theory and practice, the class will now set out to find the essential facts and unveil the significance of their stories with the artistry of a true journalist.