Life of a Journalist: Top 5

As first published in the September 14th edition of The Western Carolinian...

For this issue's column, I thought I would share some insights, memories and all around fun with a Top 5 list of the greatest stories I have worked on as a journalist for this paper. I have covered it all from the "Before They Were Educators" series to serious coverage of scandals and issues plaguing Jackson County. Here are just five of my favorites.

1. SGA Illegal Voting
In the spring of 2011, I learned from a staff writer that the Student Government Association President and Vice President results for the election were delayed because of illegal voting. Fifteen votes during that election were deemed illegal. I was permitted to attend the investigative committee and write an article on the investigation and election, which determined TJ Eaves was President and Alecia Page Vice President. What I did not expect was runner-up Doug Bridges calling me on my cell phone late one night for an in-depth interview about his side of the story. Due to some finagling by former Editor-in-Chief and current Journalism Adviser Justin Caudell, we delayed printing long enough to get both stories in the next issue. The article took many late nights and long hours, but at the 2012 N.C. College Media Association Conference, Caudell and I received an Honorable Mention award for the story.

2. Food Shortage in Jackson County
This was a very moving story that involved many people, who I cannot thank enough for their assistance and dedication to their work. Amy Grimes at The Community Table in Sylva helped in pulling their records and giving me numbers of statistics from their organization. Also, Alison Hixson and Leigh Puttus at MANNA FoodBank in Asheville assisted extensively in making sure I had all the factual information I needed by emailing me various links and research. That article became the longest piece I had ever written and one that I am the proudest of.

3. "A Chorus Line" preview
Since my introduction to "CATS," I have been obsessed with Broadway musicals. For that reason, I began at The Western Carolinian as an Arts and Entertainment writer. One of my first stories was interviewing Charlotte D'Amboise, who directed Western Carolina's production of "A Chorus Line." D'Amboise made me feel right at home with her even though I was extremely nervous as we settled  into a small table at Starbucks in the Courtyard Dining Hall. Enthusiastic about the show, she gave me a great interview. After we wrapped up and I was back at Walker Hall working on the article, I realized that D'Amboise had worked with my all-time favorite Broadway actor Michael Gruber! I still smile remembering my dropped jaw as I put the pieces together. Think of all the interview questions I would have asked if I had known that before the meeting!

D'Amboise and Gruber

4. The Freshman Fifteen, Pound 9
It is not often that I get the chance to be funny to in my writing. My big comedy break came through my editorial column that I wrote as a freshman known as "The Freshman Fifteen." The craziest thing about that column was that there was a banner created to go with it (as seen below), and it was printed in the paper nearly every time. However, the banner only read "The Freshman" with a fork and knife framing the words that sat on a plate. No one ever fixed it, and I don't know if anyone ever said anything about it. It was always just plain funny to me! In "Pound 9," I wrote about what two weeks of my life were like suffering from bronchitis while having to attend classes and walk to the Courtyard Dining Hall for nourishment.It was the most miserable two weeks of my life. I renamed my laptop Kayne West because of its attitude, discovered a website of jigsaw puzzles and became addicted to Pixy Stix. It was a heck of a two weeks, documented for all of WCU to read.

5. The "Rodgers and Hammerstein Gala"
In January 2010, I attend the "Rodgers and Hammerstein Gala" at the former Fine and Performing Arts Center, otherwise known as FPAC. The performance, beautiful and entertaining, was not what made the event stand out. No, it was actor and musical theater student Jonathan Cobrda. During the first number, Cobrda purposefully fell from the stage nearly into the lap of an elderly woman in the front row. It was not until the house lights came back on during intermission that everyone saw the large pool of blood surrounding the woman. Cobrda had accidentally bumped into the woman's ankle and reopened her stitches from a previous injury. Completely unaware, she sat in the dark bleeding until intermission. EMTs arrived and carried her out on a stretcher as the small audience watched on with open mouths. Cobrda continued his performance in the second act without a hitch. Over a year later, I met Cobrda in a Ballroom Dance class. He introduced himself, and I smiled.
"I know who you are," I replied. "You're the one who made that poor woman bleed when you fell off the stage."
The look on his face was priceless, and he laughed. We have been good friends ever since! 

Jonathan and I after a Ballroom recital

The Must List, Sept. 16

I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile, nothing original anyway. Life has been nothing but busy and bustle. When I do get time off from doing homework and working on the newspaper, the very last thing I want to do is write. As sad as it is, it's the truth.
Still, here is a new Must List!

1. "Parenthood" Season 3 on Instant NetFlix
Finally, finally, finally!!!! I'm so excited to watch this next season. Already, it's been fantastic. The road trip episode, Max running away, Christina setting her foot down... it's as good as usual but never as good as "Brothers & Sisters."

2. "One More Night" by Maroon 5
This is the new song that I can't get enough of. Well, one of the new ones...

3. "Runnin'" by Adam Lambert
This song is a bonus track on the deluxe Trespassing album. It is a beautiful song with a moving topic. As always, Adam has my musical heart!!

"My heart's beating faster, I know what I'm after.
I've been standing here my whole life,
Everything I've seen twice, now it's time I realize
It's spinnin' back around now, on this road I'm crawling
Save me cause I'm falling, now I can't seem to breathe right
Cause I keep runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'
Runnin' from my heart."

4. Fresh melon slice-scented candle
I found one of these at Rite-Aid. It smells delicious. It's like a melon-flavored Air Head. I've suddenly taken a re-interest in candles. Right now, I have the melon slice scent, warm vanilla cream, banana nut bread, fresh cotton sheets, a candle rope for the bathroom, and a mixed blend from the Outer Banks.

5. Mast General Store in Waynesville
Imagine: barrels and barrels and barrels of overflowing CANDY! Air Heads, hot cinnamon pops, Smarties, Hershey's Kisses, Lemonheads, Nerds, chocolate malt balls, Double Bubble gum, rock candy, lollipops, Hello Kitty-themed candy, Hot Tamales, and so much more... it's my paradise!!

6. "It's Only a Job" mug
I bought a mug that fit me perfectly from the Bradley's General Store in Dillsboro. I thought I could gently poke fun at my staff writers at the next assignment meeting for The Western Carolinian! :)

Our Take

Every issue, there's a small story in the upper left corner of the Campus Views page called "Our Take." And, every issue I write a small blurb about something important to The Western Carolinian as a whole. Here's "Our Take" from the Back to School double issue.

"If this is your first time picking up The Western Carolinian, we would like to welcome you to Western Carolina University and to our newspaper.
It is a small newspaper, but we have taken on the "big dogs" in several award ceremonies and come away happy. Our staff is a family unit of good friends that come together on a regular basis in different events in our offices, in the classroom and out in the Jackson County community. Together, we hike through the great outdoors, see movies, volunteer at local non-profit organizations and strive to participate within our community that we report on every day.

We describe ourselves and our paper as "a college newspaper [that] serves the entire college community by reporting the news, including college events and activities, providing a forum for comment and criticism and encouraging the free expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States."
At The Western Carolinian, we believe in the policy of "student run." All of our decisions fall on both two Co-Editors-in-Chief with input from their section editors and staff writers. Each staff member and both Co-Editors are full-time students learning what it takes to be a journalist, photographer or designer.
We encourage you, the reader, to express yourself in any form through The Western Carolinian. It is the campus newspaper for Western Carolina University and its community, which includes all of you.
"As a vehicle for free inquiry and free expression in the college community," we accept all mediums of guest work, including hard-hitting news stories, photographs, poetry and opinion pieces. We also offer paying jobs and are currently looking for staff writers. In a newspaper environment, the staff learned every day the importance of working well under pressure, making deadlines, AP style writing, being a member of a team and many other skills.
Come find out more about us. We are located in the Old Student Union building across the street from Moore. Go through the front door, down the hall, across the expanse of the conference room to the little hally. Our offices are there on the right. Follow us via Facebook or check out website at www.westerncarolinian.com. If you do not feel up to writing a piece for publication, send us any type of feedback.  We hope to hear from you. Have a great year, Catamounts!

First deaf graduate of WCU passes away

Here is a touching story I wrote for The Western Carolinian.

"On Aug. 3, 1946, Jimmie Ray Crawford was born profoundly deaf in the small mountain town of Waynesville. His parents could only guess at the accomplishments their child would achieve.
 Last month, Crawford passed away, but his legacy as the man who took to court the major players of the UNC-System and Western Carolina University lives on through his accomplishments. His wife, Pat Crawford, and nephew, Ernie Pitts, spoke exclusively with this journalist about Jimmie Crawford’s amazing impact.
As a graduate student, Crawford went head-to-head against Western Carolina, the WCU chancellor at that time and the UNC-System along with its president and chairman of the board of governors after being denied an interpreter to help him in his graduate classes.
“He wanted to stand and fight for deaf people’s rights to have an interpreter,” said Pat Crawford.
According to an article by the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Hiram Ward “affirmed a magistrate’s recommendation that Western Carolina University provide an interpreter for [Crawford].” Magistrate Russell Eliason then strongly recommended to WCU that the school either supply “an interpreter or another method of communicating classroom lectures to the student…,” continued the article.
After years of struggling but succeeding during his years of school and now into his graduate school years at WCU, Jimmie Crawford was finally able to understand every word his instructors said in and outside of the classroom in 1977, not even two years after filing the complaint.
Jimmie Crawford was the first profoundly deaf student to graduate from Western Carolina University and its School of Educational Administration and School Personnel. After graduation, he taught for 30 years at the North Carolina School for the Deaf, according to his obituary.
Pat Crawford, who is also deaf, explained that schooling had never been easy for her late husband before his interpreter at Western Carolina. However, he was never one to give up, saying that he was in the top ten of his class in high school."

Read the rest of the story here!

Life of a Journalist 4: Summer in Cullowhee

As originally published in The Western Carolinian newspaper of Western Carolina University...

"This was my first full summer in Cullowhee and Sylva since coming to Western Carolina University in the fall of 2009.
Soon after exams were over, I moved into a two-bedroom mobile home near the heart of Sylva and began working on the summer issues of The Western Carolinian in my new home.

Never before had I experienced the mountains in the summer. I always spent my summers at my childhood home or in a big city like Raleigh. I must say that staying in the mountains was better.
For the first month, we avoided the nasty, oppressing heat and enjoyed cool mornings with heavy fog. For the first time in my life, I wore long-sleeved shirts and fuzzy pajama pants with bleating sheep across the fabric around the house until mid-June. My confused body shivered and formed small goose bumps until late into the summer. By the time I started wearing sundresses and shorts, half of the summer had disappeared.

Stuart playing in Bridge Park

The activities available here in the summer are more enticing than those in the city. There was river rafting, hiking, Fourth of July fireworks at Lake Junaluska, the Farmer's Market and all sorts of free concerts every week. Western Carolina University offered belly dancing instruction, the Sylva library had free movies and the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad celebrated Pioneer Weekend.
Meanwhile, work continued at The Western Carolinian offices with only two writers, one photographer, Ryan Alexander and myself. We were a small bunch, but we tackled whatever came our way. We didn't see each other as much as during the school year from scrambling around trying to pull a 12-page paper together with only four writers and little advertising. Still, it was enjoyable and somewhat relaxing because of how well we all worked together.
One of the biggest events we covered this summer was the public meeting about the future construction of Old Cullowhee Bridge. As a reporter, I presented the information through this newspaper as factual. As a resident of Jackson County, I was caught up in the emotion that flew around that room as several citizens came forward to passionately defend the Cullowhee Auto Service, which may or may not have to be demolished.
The whole idea of the construction caused a great stir in the community and will continue to cause one until construction is complete. Whether or not you use the bridge to get from one place to another, you will know someone who does. Old Cullowhee Road is a major artery of our little towns, and that bridge will cause strife whether or not it also causes the removal of a few local businesses. Right now, we wait and hold our breaths to hear the latest news of which alternate the NCDOT will chose as their preferred construction method (NOTE: After this was written, the NCDOT announced their decision. Cullowhee Auto Service has been saved!).
Right before school began, Co-Editor Alexander and I were going through Seminar Week, a week of staff bonding, team-building and training for staff members and ourselves. On the schedule, we had seminars like Media Law, Journalism Photography, Article Critique and Investigative Reporting.
Our speakers included former Editor-in-Chief and current Journalism Adviser Justin Caudell and Kelly Donaldson, a former writer for The Western Carolinian and current editor of the Crossroads Chronicle. Also during the week, the staff came together for movie nights, a welcome back party and hiking trips.
The week ended with Valley Ballyhoo on Aug. 18, where we united at a table to encourage new students to join our team in reporting Western Carolina University news. It was a busy, action-packed week in preparation for another amazing year at The Western Carolinian."

Painting at Claymate's in Dillsboro

How to Survive Living Off Campus

This article was originally published in The Western Carolinian's Back to School issue - the Freshman Survival Guide section.

"Moving off campus is as big of an adjustment as moving on campus was when students were freshmen. Suddenly, there is cooking, cleaning and trying to find a parking space to worry about and plan. This guide will make life a little easier and help cause less stress.
First, parking does not always have to be a headache. If you choose to become a commuter student, remember to register for your parking permit online before coming to campus. This will save you and One-Stop time and effort. This year, parking passes are $84 and by registering online, the parking pass is mailed to whatever mailing address you desire. The $84 is charged to your student account and the pass arrives at your door after a 24-hour processing and mailing time. However, obtaining a parking permit requires more leg work after Aug. 1. You must go to the Parking Services Office or One-Stop, both on campus buildings, to receive your pass. You may still register online, but the permit will not arrive in your mailbox. After Aug. 19, only One-Stop will have parking permits to give.

Once you have your parking pass, know the lots you where you can park! Parking Services will boot your car with an ugly orange metal contraption that means “You cannot move until we say so” or a white fluttering ticket on your windshield that ruins any day. You might stand a chance of getting the ticket dismissed thanks to Student Government Association’s Traffic Court, but it is easier and quicker to avoid tickets and boots altogether. The Parking Services website has very detailed and insightful maps to make sure commuters, staff, faculty, on campus students and visitors park in the right areas every day of the week. If you are a commuter, learn the routes of the Cat-Tran so that you can safely park in a spot that may be a good walking distance from your classes but is safe from tickets or boots. Ride the Cat-Tran to your classes or put on some good walking shoes for a brisk walk to breathe in that fresh mountain air. Some students frown or make jokes about the Cat-Tran, but your tuition fees go toward the purple buses whether you ride them or not, so enjoy and partake in the campus transportation system. There is also an express route from the new Health and Human Sciences building to the back of the University Center this year. The route is specifically designed to get students from the Health building to main campus and back again in enough time to attend their classes on the separates campuses.

If you do not want to bring your car to campus at all, bicycles are a plus because there are several shortcuts across campus that you cannot use with your car. Many off campus apartments designed for students, like The Summit or Rabbit Ridge, are within easy biking distance to both main campus and the Health and Human Sciences building. Also, there is the Catwalk to safely cross Highway 107. Over the summer, a new crosswalk was built across the highway at the bottom of the hill of The Summit Apartments. Now, students can signal the stop lights to stay red for them to cross the streets without playing the most dangerous game of tag ever played.

One of my roommates!

In previous years, a shuttle ran to nearby off campus apartments on a loop every weekday. Students did not have to pay for this service, and it saved money on gas and parking permits. It was also less of a headache because you did not have to fight for parking spaces or arrive two hours early for class to make sure there was one left.
According to Jackson County Transit, who ran the shuttle, Western Carolina University did not renew their contract, and there will be no more off campus shuttle services through the Transit. However, Don Taylor from Cat-Tran told The Western Carolinian exclusively that the Cat-Tran is now responsible for the off campus shuttle service. They will follow the same route as Jackson County Transit, stopping at the same apartment complexes, said Taylor.
Dining is another huge issue for off campus students. There are two different commuter meal plans one can choose in order to save on groceries and washing dishes. The Commuter Declining Balance plan is $500 of DB points, which can be used at any dining location. The Commuter Block plan is 25 block meals to be used at the upstairs Courtyard Dining Hall throughout one semester plus $374 DB points to be used anywhere. This plan is helpful in that you are still able to eat with your friends upstairs with their on campus meal plans without using up your DB points.
If you run out of points or are not interested in eating upstairs at Courtyard, there are great places to get a meal or groceries in your local community of Cullowhee and Sylva.

Until October, the Farmer’s Market runs every Saturday morning in Sylva and every Wednesday evening in Cullowhee. Get the freshest, healthiest vegetables and even cuts of meat, cheese and fish from local farmers. Herbs, lettuce and other products can be found cheaper at the Market than at stores like Food Lion or Wal-Mart.
For snacks and bread products, try the Flowers Baking Company next door to Rae’s City Grill, previously The Bone Shack. Flowers is a bakery outlet and sells products at significantly lower prices like eight Nature’s Own hamburger buns for $.59 and loaves of bread for under $2 each. Shoppers can also find Blue Bird snack cakes, ketchup, honey, bags of chips, pies and other goodies for their pantries. Pick up a Customer Appreciation Card for more savings.

For other ways to save on groceries, browse the websites of Food Lion and Ingles to see what is on sale then add the coupon onto your MVP or Ingles Advantage Card online. Try not to fall into a routine of only stopping at one grocery store or another. Wal-Mart, Food Lion, Harold’s Supermarket in Dillsboro, Ingles and Sav Mor all have different sales going on during any given day, and by planning ahead, you can save more money and find better deals. If you and your roommates are planning on splitting the cost of groceries, shopping at Wal-Mart is not your best choice. Food Lion and Ingles provide deals like Buy-One-Get-One-Free and provide more discounts on family-sized products than Wal-Mart."

For the full article... CLICK HERE!