Two Pitch Ideas:

1.) Where are we now? Re-examining the schedule change almost two years after its formation erupted into campus-wide student outrage. As we discussed in class, the schedule change was a huge story when the UNE administration decided to alter the schedule to Mon/Thur and Tues/Fri with Wednesdays off. I feel it is an important topic to follow up on, as just because students have been forced to accept the change doesn’t mean they have changed how they feel about it. Questions to ask:

  • Was it worth it? Is the campus livelier on weekends? (The intent behind the change)
  •  Do students still feel as salient about this issue as when it was first raised? (Give context to the immense backlash that students started at the time leading to the president’s forum on the topic) 
  •  Were you for, against, or neutral to the change? (Allow for multiple POVs)
  •  Have your feelings changed? (Was it just a momentary group outrage without effort to understand, or was it really a justified concern)
  •  What changed within your day-to-day life as a student because of this? (There are serious implications to a change like this. It undermines students’ ability to make choices as adults with other responsibilities such as work, family obligations, health issues, etc.

Who to talk to: 

  • Junior and Seniors who were Freshman and Sophomore when the change was made 
  • Dean Millen on the intent behind the change and if he feels from an admin perspective that those goals have been met. 
  • Maybe a current Freshman if they knew what a college schedule should look like. 

2.) Look into the fact that UNE must approve all posters – I understand that all clubs and UNE-affiliated organizations must have approval before putting up posters/notices, etc., to keep the communal space equitable between clubs. But why do individual students, a part of the UNE community, need approval before putting up non-campus-sponsored posters of events, notices, or even services? Ask students who work at the commons what they think ( they are the ones who get asked to put things up the most) and ask students if they feel UNE tries to censor what is up and around the school. Talk to Prof. Roche about student rights on First Amendment-type issues – especially since we are a private institution.

Draft #1 (200-300 words) – 2/6/24

Where Are We Now: Updates on the Turbulent Schedule Change of 2022

Biddeford, ME – Almost exactly two years ago, on February 11, 2022, the University of New England Student Affairs office sent out the fateful email that would come to define the Spring semester. Students of all years erupted into protests, walk-outs, and demands for transparency. Now, have their feelings changed, or has reality subdued voices of dissent? 

Looking back to Spring of 2022, students happily went about their days with a Mon/Wed and Tues/Thur class schedule. Though a block schedule had already altered the status quo due to COVID-19, the mood on campus was content. Yet, this all changed when, without warning, the Student Affairs Office emailed the entire student body announcing that all schedules would now change to Mon/Thur and Tues/Friday. 

While talking with UNE’s Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Jonathan Millen, Ph.D. , he provided some context to the intent behind this change, saying, “The idea was to create a more vibrant weekend experience to entice students to stay on campus.”

It is essential to hear and recognize the validity of student experiences surrounding this change. In discussing how students feel today, Alexis Smith provided a personal anecdote about her unique situation during her freshman year, which required her to babysit her younger sibling on certain weekends. She says, “If the schedule change had been in place during this time, I would not have been able to help her family in this significant way.”

Draft #2

(400-500 words) – 2/9/24

Where Are We Now: Updates on the Turbulent Schedule Change of 2022

Biddeford, ME – Almost exactly two years ago, on February 11, 2022, the University of New England Student Affairs office sent out the fateful email that would come to define the Spring semester. Students of all years erupted into protests, walk-outs, and demands for transparency. Now we ask, have their feelings changed, or has reality subdued voices of dissent? 

Looking back to Spring of 2022, students went about their days with a Mon/Wed and Tues/Thur class schedule. Though a block schedule had already altered the status quo due to COVID-19, the mood on campus was content. Yet, this all changed when, without warning, the Student Affairs Office emailed the entire student body announcing that all schedules would now change to Mon/Thur and Tues/Friday. 

While talking with UNE’s Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Jonathan Millen, Ph.D. , he provided some context to the intent behind this change, saying, “The idea was to create a more vibrant weekend experience to entice students to stay on campus.” While this goal lends itself to the extracurricular life for the student body, Millen also shared two other important factors. One is the ability for “better utilization of classrooms” and two, for Wednesdays to become a “time made available for things that don’t fall into a typical class schedule.”

It is essential to hear and recognize the adminstrations reasoning behind the change, but it would not be complete without student experiences today. Alexis Smith, Senior (ask major), provided an explanation of her unique situation during her freshman year, which required her to babysit her younger sibling on certain weekends. She says, “If the schedule change had been in place during this time, I would not have been able to help her family in this significant way.”

Another student weighing in on the matter is Junoir Neuroscience major Olivia Mamula (she/her) → (questions I will ask that inform the results of this section) 

  • What were your thoughts when the initial schedule change was made? 
  • How did the goal of having Wednesdays off for out-of-classroom experiences impact you?
  • Two years later, how do you feel about the change? 

In speaking to the level of student dissatisfaction today, Millen joked that if students were still unhappy, he would have heard about it, and yet he says he has“Zero complaints from students.” While it is surely known that there is an understandable disconnect between administrators and students, silence does not necessarily equate to satisfaction. 

When I asked Smith and Mamula if they would raise their concerns today, both answered ______ 

  • Ask them: (if they say they still feel the change was wrong and doesn’t work for them) Would you feel comfortable at this time raising your concerns to admin about the reality of the change? 

It might seem insignificant and unappreciative of students to bring forth such criticism about something as mundane as a schedule change, but for students, it impacts the bulk of their day-to-day lives. Just because the wave of momentum has died down as students must accept the reality doesn’t mean they agree with its intent and result. 

Workshopping Peer Review Draft:

(600-750 words) 2/16/24

Where Are We Now: Updates on the Turbulent Schedule Change of 2022

Was all the change for the better – or have students continued to live in disapproval of the hotly debated schedule change?

By Elia O’Hara 

Almost exactly two years ago, on February 11, 2022, the University of New England Student Affairs office sent out the fateful email that would define the Spring semester. Students of all years erupted into protests, walk-outs, and demands for transparency. Now we ask, have their feelings changed, or has reality subdued voices of dissent? 

In the spring of 2022, students went about their days with a Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday class schedule. Though a block schedule had already altered the status quo due to COVID-19, the mood on campus was content. 

Yet, this all changed when, without warning, UNE’s administration announced that the schedule would now change to Monday/Thursday and Tuesday/Friday with Wednesdays off. 

While talking with UNE’s Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Jonathan Millen (he/him), Ph.D., he provided some context to the intent behind the schedule change. 

He says, “The idea was to create a more vibrant weekend experience to entice students to stay on campus.” While this goal lends itself to the extracurricular life for the student body, Millen also shared two other essential factors. One was the ability for “better utilization of classrooms,” and the other was for Wednesdays to become a “time made available for things that don’t fall into a typical class schedule.”

It is essential to hear and recognize the administrators’ reasoning behind the change, but it would not be complete without student experiences today. 

Alexis Smith (she/her), Senior Medical Biology major, explained her unique situation during her freshman year. She says, “If the schedule change had been in place during this time, I would not have been able to help her family by babysitting my younger sibling on the weekends.”

Another student weighing in on the matter is Olivia Mamula (she/her), a Junior Neuroscience major. When asked about her experiences when the schedule change was made, she said, “Initially, I thought it would be a positive change because it seemed as though I would have more time to do my homework and catch up during the week.” 

Yet, two years later, her feelings have changed. As a student with constant labs, she voiced, “I now have no time off during the week, and I know I never will. It feels like a false promise of a benefit that will never affect me.”

In speaking to the level of student dissatisfaction, Millen believes if students were still unhappy, he would have heard about it. Yet he says he has “zero complaints from students.” While it is understandable that administrators and students may not have ample opportunities to discuss such feelings, silence does not necessarily equate to satisfaction. 

Looking back to the initial change, the President of UNE, James Herbert, Ph.D., quickly assessed the level of student discontent and promptly commented on the matter. 

Herbert’s statement read, “While we remain firm in the decision to implement this change, I want to provide you with an opportunity to hear more about the new schedule.” However, students quickly realized that this forum would not change the administration’s decision, and logically, they had to move on. 

When I asked Mamula if she thought raising her concerns today would be beneficial, she answered, “I wish it would be, but I honestly feel like no matter how many people bring it up, there wouldn’t be a change.” 

It might seem insignificant and unappreciative of students to criticize something as mundane as a schedule change, but these details impact the bulk of their day-to-day lives. Just because the wave of momentum has died down as students must accept the reality doens’t mean they agree with its intent and result. 

Whether students were hopeful that the change could benefit their school-life balance or displeased from the start, feelings of disillusionment appear to continue two years later.

Revised Draft:

OHara-Final-Draft-Feature-Story-

Workshop Experience Reflection:

My feature story draft was one of the four selected for our first class workshop, and I received some very helpful and constructive feedback from my peers. It was also nice to reflect on how the comments from the class made me feel that the story I have chosen to dig into is relevant to students on campus. After this workshop, I plan to incorporate my interview with freshman Art Education major Kaylie Norton into the piece to provide that important understanding that new students coming into UNE under the current schedule change don’t know any better. I hope to raise the point that there is nothing to complain about for freshmen as they have nothing else to reference our schedule to. Nevertheless, that will make a vital point on how this issue really will become the status quo as more and more students turn over, and the amnesia will continue. I will also make a few minor mechanical edits surrounding pronouns, some quote formatting, and re-work where my nut graph is. The only major piece I want to add is to interview Professor Cripps as he is the head of the School of Arts & Humanities and can provide some context and authority to the mood/situation back in 2022 and today. As I am thinking about the central focus of the piece and how to provide the impact I am looking for, I also received a great suggestion from Prof. Miller based on the class’ feelings toward the silence mentioned is to add to the craft of the piece by incorporating that somewhere in either my sub-head or lede.

Feature Reflection:

Reflecting on the Feature Creature or Feature Story project as a whole, I have found it to be an incredibly rewarding experience. As I predominantly write within the conventions of academia, I was nervous about jumping into writing a journalistic feature story where I was mostly unfamiliar with certain conventions and formats of this genre. But having the opportunity to look at sample feature stories, especially Emily Hedegard, who is such a great peer, and work through multiple stages of drafts, revisions, workshops, and feedback, I felt supported in trying out something new. I am really proud of my work in giving this project my best effort from the beginning of the process. I spent a lot of time with my pitch ideas and wanted to make sure that this story would be about something I have an interest in and has at least some impact or relevance to our campus community, as I truly believe that even in practicing the craft of journalism, I should try to be that voice and camera lens to important stories around me worth raising. As I mentioned in my workshop reflection, the peer review element included in this project was super helpful and allowed me to refine the central focus of my story further and make sure my writing was clear and free of any minor mistakes. Adding those additional quotes from Professor Cripps was something I think rounded off the piece and gave it more authority and impact on the faculty side of this issue that I was missing. I am glad that my workshop experience enabled me to see that blind spot and include it. Before being tasked with writing this feature, I was someone who had many opinions on journalism and its current state in our country, yet actually having the chance to see just a glimpse of the work and craft that goes into writing even soft news altered my perspective and made me realize how essential the art of journalism is. The story I have chosen to feature – looking into how our UNE campus feels two years after the schedule change in 2022 is one I want to pursue even after this project and perhaps work with the Bolt. 

Editorial Team Reaction Journals (on-going until 3/8/24)

Journal #9

We had a great discussion in class for workshop #1, and on a more general note, working in a group to think through problems or highlight what is going well impacts my writing in such a great way. Everyone will have different struggles in their writing, and everyone has a different perspective on what is confusing or what speaks to them. Listening to the class weigh in on the other drafts, I gathered so much useful information surrounding citation forms, bylines, and mechanics of the feature story versus hard news just by paying attention to the group conversation. More specifically, a few comments from my fellow “editorial team” members that stuck out to me related to finding the story and thinking about what is missing. I believe it was Finn who mentioned finding the story, and I think it is so easy when we are drafting to get caught up in all the information we have gathered. Trying to construct a coherent piece of writing out of sometimes disjointed and surplus info can be overwhelming. Still, the beauty of getting all the information down is that you have so much flexibility and options to think about what you want to say. In a similar statement from Nick, I think, is this idea that once you have a solid draft, you can begin to think about what is missing. Techniques like taking the time to consider whether there are gaps in what you know you want to get across versus what is on the page. Both of these points relate to finding that focus and portraying it to your audience in the best and most genuine way possible, which I feel is essential in practicing writing like a journalist. 

Journal #10

Today’s editorial workshop was very lively, and I felt like everyone had a few helpful comments to make. I feel like the central theme of the class was how to make sure we find our angle and how so many other pieces of the editing process will fall into place through that. One comment from our discussion that I found really constructive was from Tony when he framed his suggestion with the opportunity for Evan to gain some more credibility with the addition of an interview with the Atheltic Trainer. Ideas like this one, with a few solid steps the writer can do, make the drafting process seem doable. Another comment or two that stood out to me was from Pheobe when she gave a great piece of personal experience and advice to Sarah Bo. in gaining the perspective of a student who is not in the GUST program but who has changed their major and might have some feelings on if they could have benefited from it. Phoebe also jumped in to answer Grace’s question regarding her word count and how to shorten her piece by making the vital connection that if she spends some time honing in on her angle, what is most important will become apparent, and some cuts can be made with other information not as relevant.

Journal #11

The peer review workshop today touched on a lot of helpful and recursive themes that have come up throughout the process. One moment that stood out to me at the beginning of class was when we workshopped Tony’s piece, and Kristen offered the advice, “Take the journalist out of the journalism.” Not only is it a very clever and succinct way to sum up her constructive point in finding focus and honing in on reporting style, but it also allows us all to think about how essential it is to maintain that separation from ourselves and our beliefs from what we aim to report and highlight other voices. Another key comment from our peer editors was Kayliegh’s comment to Finn on how since his story is on rugby and could be more “punchy,” there could be a less formal tone and things like limiting the questions to self within the story that pulls the reader out. Kayleigh also had some great points earlier in the class on storytelling and how, for instance, when Tony found his angle at the conclusion of his article, bringing that in from the start can really help the reader understand the greater importance and want to continue reading.

Journal #12

There were lots of great editorial team moments from today’s workshop, but a few that stood out as most helpful and impactful were around student perspectives and how to place our statements in the correct context. Sarah Bourdeau offered two really helpful points. One was during our workshop on Caitlin’s story, where she made the point that it might be best to bring in the fact that UNE is a private institution, as Caitlin’s story is about UNE’s tuition. I found this to be really impactful as we think about how we as journalists represent the facts we have – if certain points are taken too far out of context, we might be creating a narrative that strays a bit from the whole truth. On the same note, when workshopping Sarah Bedore’s story, Sarah Bourdeau offered some advice on the importance of interviewing students if the story centers on student experiences in the mailroom. Again, placing the story in the context of the actual students it impacts, such as work-study students being the only people available to work in the mailroom, provides a whole new perspective to her issue in mailroom complaints. Another helpful example from our classroom-style newsroom came from Tony as we were workshopping Cole’s story on UNE’s dorm accessibilities. When our conversation turned to the potential angle of looking into UNE’s elevators, costs, etc., Tony jumped in with a personal connection to someone who would have a lot of expertise and credibility and offered to share that with Cole.

Journal #13

Today’s workshop covered feature stories from Gage and Brady – many of the comments from the group centered around gaining more student perspectives and working on finding the focus or angle of the story. One comment from Nick that was impactful for both Gage’s story and our group as a whole was how he suggested finding someone to talk to who “has the power to make those decisions.” He brought up a crucial point in how the work of the journalist has to find a variety of individuals who either have access to the people in powerful positions that might really impact a story or who are themselves decision makers. Another helpful comment from today’s class came from Kristen while we workshopped Brady’s story. She suggested how his capitalization in the headline wasn’t consistent and even provided a possible solution or example that he could look to for reference. Sometimes, when we are nearing the end of our drafting process or caught up in the content, it can be so nice to bring a quick fix to our attention.