Feature Writing

She yelled, “I know what I want to write about!”

“Online gaming is basically a really fast and growing industry,” said Anita Zheng. “There are so many competitions.”

Males gamers asked, “Why are you playing this game if you’re a girl?”

Zheng says, “There are a lot of stereotypes. It’s really a male dominated industries while a lot of my girlfriends play games a lot.”

“Girls have ideas about different designs for video games,” Zheng said.

 

 

Cole Greene said,”I work at the Flatiron Room. It’s a whiskey bar and I am a hostess.”

“I was supposed to go to a party with my boyfriend but we didn’t end up going,”said Greene.

“It was a house party off of prince street.”

“I didn’t dress up.”

“We ended up going to Union Square and hung out. We got home at 5 am and slept until 3 pm then next day.”

“You know, I did not want to be a journalist when I was growing up,” Rebecca Simon said. “I originally went to college with the intent of graduating with a psychology degree. But then I thought, why not? And here I am.”

“At this point, I’m pretty sure Baruch will use the slow WiFi as an excuse to raise tuition. Why else would it be so slow?” Simon added.

Simon went on to say that, “As much as I complain, Baruch is a pretty good school. I couldn’t find a better journalism department for this price in the East Coast.”

“I don’t really. I use fantasy football as a distraction from my real work,” said Kaye.

Kaye said, “I check it every morning, and it delays my morning routine by about 15 minutes.”

“Not doing very well,” admitted Kaye. “I won my fantasy baseball – 2nd year a in row – but I’m struggling with fantasy football and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

“I’m trying to defend my championship – I won last year – but it’s not looking too good,” said Kaye, a 23-year-old senior at Baruch. “I don’t even think I’ll make the playoffs.”

 

“No, I don’t think that New York City has taken the proper precautions to prepare for another hurricane or superstorm which would measure up to the magnitude of Sandy. Quite honestly, I’m apprehensive about the future of this great metropolis when it comes to standing up against the untimely force of Mother Nature,” Markowicz stated.

She then said, “Shame on Mayor Bill de Blasio for his lackluster campaign to prepare our city for another disaster like Sandy. Shame on him.”

“Yay, you spelled my name right!” she added.

“I worked on Friday and Saturday.”

“I work at the Rose bar. I’m a waitress, a cocktail server.”

“It was long and exhausting, I wasn’t supposed to work on Saturday but I got called in because someone was late.”

“We had Halloween parties.”

“Got home from work at 6 a.m.”

“I didn’t really get to go out or anything.”

“I slept for two hours.”

“And had a million things to do the next day.”

 

Copy Editing 101

Making sure your word choice is specific:

Confusing: Andy annoyed Juan, but that didn’t stop him from asking for a meeting.
Clear: Bob annoyed Larry, but that didn’t stop Juan from asking for a meeting.

Frequently Disparaged: Everyone withdrew their money.
Uncontroversial: Everyone withdrew his or her money.
Uncontroversial: People withdrew their money.

Missing or Unnecessary Capitalization

Capitalize proper nouns: The names of things, such as the Golden Gate Bridge.
Lowercase common nouns: Descriptions, such as that famous bridge.

Shift in Verb Tense

Wrong: John Wilkes Booth barricaded the door while Lincoln is watching the play.
Right: John Wilkes Booth barricaded the door while Lincoln watched the play.

Sentence Fragments

These aren’t always wrong, and can sometimes be used to great effect. But don’t use them accidentally.

Fragments: Because she was late. And I held the door.

Errors in Parallel Structure

Not Parallel: Kids like singing, chatting, and check their phones.
Parallel: Kids like singing, chatting, and checking their phones.

Passive Voice

Passive voice isn’t technically wrong, but active sentences are often better.

Passive: The bell was rung by zombies.
Active: Zombies rang the bell.

Commas in Compound Sentences

Wrong: All my friends came over for my birthday Tuesday and Bobby visited me the next day.
Right: All my friends came over for my birthday Tuesday, and Bobby visited me the next day.

Quotations – THIS IS A BIG ONE

In the U.S., periods and commas go inside the closing quotation mark. Semicolons, colons, and dashes go outside the closing quotation mark. The position of question marks and exclamation points varies: They stay with their question or exclamation.

Use period (inside quotation mark) if the sentence ends at the end of the quote with no attribution to follow. If attribution follows, the period becomes a comma. Exclamation points and question marks stay the same whether or not an attribution follows.

Some occasional exceptions to the punctuation inside quotes rule” as seen below:

Correct: She yelled, “Help!”

I won a copy of “The Hunger Games”!

She asked, “Are you hungry?”

Did he just ask, “Are we in Hungary?”

Attribution near the beginning or in the middle of a very long quote.

“I’ve been working three jobs for the past eight years. It’s been hard, but it’s worth it to be able to provide for my kids better than my parents provided for me. I remember going without breakfast most days when I was little. That was really hard. I’m so thankful that’s never happened to my kids,” she said.

Removing unnecessary words.

Keep things concise. “He barely knew the guy. He was an acquaintance at best. He’d never really spoken with the man.”

Using the same word multiple times in the same sentence or in nearby sentences.

His brows furrowed in anger. “I can’t believe she said that,” he said angrily.

On the morning of October 12, hundreds of women, most of them young, were getting ready to walk up Fifth Avenue to Trump Tower in Manhattan to protest, in response to the Donald Trump tape, obtained by the Washington Post the previous week, in which he bragged of groping and kissing women without their consent.

Yong Jung Cho, 26, led the protest. Cho is a campaign coordinator for 350.org, a global climate movement. She is also the organizer for #AllofUs 2016, a group of millennials who believe in an America where everyone’s voice is represented. Cho walked up Fifth avenue with other women activist, with a signage of #trumpvsallofus #gophandsoffme.

“Trump refuses to take responsibility for his nasty words. The GOP refuses to take responsibility for making Trump be their nominee,” said Cho outloud.

Cho has been organizing protests in major cites throughout the United States. Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angles and Ohio. Just recently she went got arrested in Washington D.C for protesting in front of the office Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan. She was released a couple of hours later with a summons.

Cho grew up Ridgefield, New Jersey. Her parents are from South Korea. Growing up, her parents did not have social services like healthcare. Cho thought she was going to become a doctor to take care of her family and her community, but that changed when she got to Bryn Mawr College.

In Mawr, she got into her school government, where she learned how to get her voice heard.

“We need to organize and build power so that we can be shifting the system,” Cho said.

She also became interested in climate issues in the world.

“Most people in the United States know that climate change is happening and want leaders to take action not because it is a threat for the future, but because it is happening right now, it has impacted people today.” Said Cho

Donald Trump does not believe in climate change. Hillary Clinton wants to cut down on energy, but she is a big supporter of fracking, in which Cho is fighting against. The climate change topic has not been covered during the three debates. According to a poll conducted by Pew Research Center, it shows half of Clinton’s supporters care about climate change, compared with 15% of Trump supporters.

When asked about who she voting for in November 8th right away she said, “Not Trump!” “His outrages campaign of hatred that’s directed against not only women, but people of color, against immigrants, it’s just too much to sit around, we have to rise up and say no,” said Cho Even though she don’t like trump, she also have issues with Clinton “Clinton does not have a connection with the younger generation,” said cho

According to the Washongton Post, more than two million young people cast ballots for Bernie Sanders in the 21 states during his democractic campagin more than Clinton and Donald Trump combined. Sanders won about 29 percent more votes among those under the age of 30.

Cho was a major supporter of Bernie Sanders. She recalled the moment she went to the Bernie Sander rally in Washington Square Park. “Just to see most of our generation go and support a canadiate, who heard our voices about the issues of education, the class system and climate change it was special for me for what I stand for.” said Cho

With Sanders being defeated by Clinton. Cho looking at the at the positive. “I have no illusions that Clinton will be the resolution to our generation or our country problems, but we can’t let trump to become presdient, who is not fit to slove those isssues,” said Cho, but added I am supporting for Hillary Clinton because we must defeat Trump, but I am going to keep fighting for an America for all of us.

According to a recent poll by the Wall Street, Clinton is backed by 49% of likely voters aged 18 to 29, compared with 21% for Trump, and 14% for Libertarian Gary Johnson.

Cho is happy she gets to have the freedom to speak her mind without. “The out come of elections impact real lives, and so therefore we have reasonability to engage in our political process that is how democracy works,” said Cho

With such an extensive career in journalism and foreign affairs, how does one introduce a person such as Carla Robbins? So while this is just a feeble attempt to accomplish just that task, it may be worthwhile to state now that before she had become a renowned journalist, Robbins had first earned a BA in political science from Wellesley College first. She later received her master’s and PHD in political science from Berkeley college. Yet what some may not realize at first glance, is that Robbins began her professional career as a reporter for Business Week first; before later becoming a deputy editor for The New York Times; to eventually holding her own lectures as a professor at Baruch college.

On describing her professional origins, Robbins told me, “It was just a natural progression. I covered Washington, I was a foreign correspondent, and then [having] a chance to be a senior editor at The New York Times was a fabulous opportunity.”

While in Washington Robbins often had the privilege of meeting with various senators, secretaries of states, presidents, congressmen, and more. It was a “great front row seat” as Robbins puts it. And often times it is this very front-row seat advantage where much of the fun of being a reporter actually exists, according to Robbins. Because when you are behind the scenes, “It’s a good chance for someone to understand what [those who are featured in my reporting are] thinking” Robbins said.

Due to her experiences as both a journalist and a foreign diplomat as well, Robbins has been able to report from many countries too; such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, and even many of the beautiful countries of Latin America. Yet perhaps one of the more rewarding aspects of being a journalist came from working as an editor for The New York Times where she was able to finally hold on to her own opinions. “And that’s the difference between being a working journalist and an editorial writer or a working reporter and an editorial writer… because now I can actually speak my opinion” says Robbins.

Onto current events, Robbins looks forward to having our nation’s first woman president, potentially sworn in if Clinton snags the election from Trump next month. And if America does indeed elect their first female commander in chief this November, would this mean anything for us Americans at an international level? Robbins suggested that it is long overdue. “It’s remarkable that we’re so late to the party,” she said, adding that female presidents have been elected even “in more traditionally male dominated societies.” And as it relates to our nation’s security being managed by a woman, Robbins added that Clinton “will suffer the sling and arrows of every democrat on that front, but I don’t think it is because she’s a woman.”

As an election of many potential firsts, Robbins wonders if Clinton might appoint more women to key cabinet positions too. “I mean she may very well choose Michèle Flournoy to be her secretary of defense.” Yet “If you would had asked me [that question] nine months ago I would had said oh I’m not sure if [Clinton] really would [appoint a woman as secretary of defense].” But now, with the election so close, things look different. Could a man be our [next] Secretary of State?” she joked.

Today, Robbins is an adjunct senior fellow for the Council of Foreign Relations. In addition, Robbins is also among the staff and faculty members over at Baruch college. So even though it is not uncommon for Robbins to be seen running “around tables on the defense budget” at foreign affair meetings, Robbins realizes that her career as a journalist has only enhanced her role as an academic too. “My experience as a reporter makes me a better lecturer and a better academic,” she says. Suggesting that it is directly her intellectual training which has “gave me depth to the way I perceive situations and certainly encourages me to do a lot deeper research when I report a story” says Robbins.

Interestingly enough, Robbins had even shared with me that her mother graduated from Baruch College as well. And when asked if she felt that her career in journalism was better than her involvement with academia; Robbins had told me that “The hands on nature of teaching is incredibly gratifying in a way that I didn’t expect, I really love my students and Baruch is a really special place”. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything, and [journalism and teaching] are just different phases of my life, and one isn’t better than the other.” Finally, she adds, “I think I am also a lively lecturer because I can also talk to my students about my [own] experiences.”

Teaching Future Voters Today

Celia Kim walks into the classroom and sets her bag on her desk. Students settle in as she writes the day’s class objective on the chalkboard.

It is the day after the second presidential debate and there is the same question on many of her students’ minds: why is Trump still in the race?

Kim, a social studies teacher at P.S. 191 Museum Magnet School in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, often finds the students in her class discussing the election. As this will be the first presidential election in her teaching career, she discovers students are quick to bring up the topic that has been the center of newspaper headlines for months.

These middle school students, aged approximately eleven to thirteen, will be able to vote two election cycles from now and the knowledge they learn in this cycle may influence the type of voters they become.

Kim’s goal is to guide them, not based on her personal views, but on principles she believes, as a teacher and a role-model, is important for her students to understand. “As a teacher, it makes me even more anxious about making sure my kids know how to one, differentiate between fact and opinion; two, analyze how facts are used to support claims; three, become critical thinkers in order to be open-minded, culturally sensitive [and] life-long learners,” she says.

Teaching social studies facilitates much of the election conversation. Kim relates the prevalent issues found in the election by drawing thematic connections to their current unit of study.

However, there is a fine line between Celia Kim, the individual, and Ms. Kim, the middle school teacher. She struggles to balance her personal views with objectivity. “It is very difficult to be unbiased,” says Kim. “I recognize some of Trump’s strong qualities and have spoken about the various scandals around Clinton. But I think spending more time in school talking about how close-minded people negatively impacts your personal growth makes it clear who I’ll be voting for.”

As an individual, Kim acknowledges there is a certain appeal to the two polarizing candidates. “It’s intriguing…it really goes to show how divided our country is,” she says. “It’s interesting to walk through communities that claim to be democratic [and] be strong supporters of a certain candidate.”

Kim speaks of the outspoken, Republican candidate, Donald Trump. When I ask who she will be voting for, she says, “Clinton,” without hesitation. (She quietly admits she had wanted Sanders to be president.)

With a fervent opposition to Trump, she wonders how his supporters were taught as children.

“It makes me more determined to ensure that my kids have access to a curriculum that fosters multicultural sensitivity rather than multicultural tolerance.”

Promoting multicultural sensitivity has been the forefront of Kim’s principles. Being a child of South Korean immigrants, she disapproves of Trump’s views on immigration and the wall on the Mexican border. Her students, many who have a Hispanic/ Latino background, worry about a Trump presidency. “[My students and their families] are people of color and have grown sensitive and very aware of how the world treats people of color in the larger sense, like police brutality,” she says.

Although social studies and politics often come hand-in-hand, Kim has not always been interested in politics. It was only after she started her graduate class to become a teacher did she become interested. “As teachers, we are supposed to instill in our kids a passion for our government, and the desire to participate as knowledgeable citizens… I never really got to learn how to participate as a ‘knowledgeable citizen’ as a student before,” says Kim.

Her former teachers, she recognizes, were also active participants, having encouraged her to vote when she and her classmates became eligible.

Because New York is a predominantly Democratic, or “blue,” state, Kim’s students have uniform feelings on Trump. They question why people are voting for Trump, wish death upon him, and attribute to him many colorful names.

In non-blue states, teachers face a different set of challenges with their students than Kim.

The New York Times published a feature article on Wisconsin-resident, Brent Wathke, another middle school social studies teacher. Living in a swing state, one of Wathke’s greatest concerns is keeping class discussion civil. “The campaign is ruining a lot of classes,” he said. “You have kids saying, ‘We need to have a wall to keep Mexicans out.’ Well, what do you do if you have kids who are Mexican in the class?”

Wathke worries about the effect of the election on his students—a sentiment many teachers across the country hold.

Kim believes there is one thing the mindsets of teachers, regardless of who they will choose to vote for this election, have in common: “The need to educate our students to be critical thinkers, to think for themselves, is always going to be at the forefront of our minds.”