Between March 18 and 20, Haldane classes were short a few students. For these three days, 11 of The Haldane Outlook’s student editors attended the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s annual Spring convention held on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. The trip costs were offset by a combination of grants from the Highlands Current’s Student Journalism fund, the Haldane Arts Alliance, Haldane High School club funds, and private donations.
On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning, the editors and advisors took a bus down to the city, where they chose which classes they would take for the day. The Outlook’s Editor-in-Chief, junior Lincoln Wayland, explained that these panels were led by “industry professionals, journalism advisors, and even other students.” The sessions encompassed all sorts of journalism-related topics, including grammar, photography, and how to construct the perfect headline. One workshop was centered on student press freedom, a significant topic of debate surrounding school newspapers, including The Outlook.
The students felt that they learned a lot. The Outlook’s Features Editor, sophomore Leo O’Neil, said: “I managed to acquire so much knowledge in such a short amount of time.”
While the student editors were off fulfilling their extracurricular academic endeavors, middle school teachers and Outlook advisors Chris Blair and Jeffrey Sniffen, as well as community advisors Jennifer Zwarich and John Wayland, were busy taking their own classes directed towards newspaper advisors and conversing with advisors from other schools.
In addition to participating in the workshops, the attending schools had the opportunity to display their own newspapers to each other and to other advisors in critique sessions and student “swaps.” From these sessions, The Outlook received plenty of positive and constructive feedback. Blair said that while a key area for improvement for the Outlook is the use of shorter, more easily digestible paragraphs, the paper is doing quite well, especially for its second year.
The conference wasn’t just panels, and those attending the trip bonded over off-campus lunches in the city.
The editors and advisors who took part in the trip each had their own takeaways from the experience. The Outlook’s Managing Editor, senior Louisa Schimming, said, “I think most of what I took away was new ideas about how to organize The Outlook overall and help our writers succeed.” After the trip, Schimming constructed a calendar with deadlines and meetings to help staff writers better understand the schedule. O’Neil described: “Meeting and talking to students and presenters from all over the country was so special.” Blair stated that the trip acted as “a college experience for the kids,” giving many of the editors a feel of what life will be like post-high school if they pursue the college route.
After this enjoyable experience, members and advisors of The Outlook hope to participate in the Columbia conference in future years. As Blair pointed out, members of the club may be able to run their own workshops next year.
