Michelle Elizondo
Tom C. Clark High School
San Antonio
Title: Making Sure Everyone Has a Voice: Campaigning on Campus
State requirements
fulfilled: TEKS 1C, 4D, 4E, 4G, 5B, 5E, 5F
Objective
- The staff will understand the importance of covering diverse stories in
the newspaper.
- The staff will build their social/speaking skills with students/faculty
members.
Activities
Summary
- The students will produce a weeklong campaign, with the help of the
faculty, which will focus on developing stories that students can relate
too.
- The students will create a letter to the faculty
that explains the importance of diversity on a school newspaper as well as the goals of the campaign.
- Each staff member will have to write down three questions to be reviewed
by the newspaper teacher as will as the student editor. These questions
should help encourage ideas and thoughts about incorporating diversity
in the school newspaper. These questions should no only focus on race but
other diverse issues.
- The student editor will compile the top ten questions and create an easy-to-read
handout for the student body to fill out and return to the newspaper room.
Pre-Campaign
- The editors of the newspaper will meet
with staff members to discuss a name for the campaign. This name will give
students and faculty an understanding of the campaign’s goals. (i.e.
Your Paper, Your Voice)
- The editor-in-chief
or co-editors must write a letter to the faculty, to be read in each English
class, explaining the newspaper's goal in wanting to cover more diverse
stories.
- The editors must explain the importance
of diversity and trying to target diverse students in reading the publication.
- The
English teachers should read this letter to the students before the
campaign takes into effect. English teachers were chosen because each
student is required to take English before completing graduation requirements.
- The
staff should have a form to be filled out by each student. On this form,
there will be a list of the top five stories in the previous issues
that made the front page.
- The directions will ask the students to circle the
stories he/she has read. There will be an italicized question
that will ask the student why he/she read that story. Under that
question, will be another question that asks the student about
future stories that may interest him/her.
- Other questions on
the form will be decided by the staff. The journalism teacher
should require each staff member to write down his/her questions
that will draw students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas
for the newspaper. (i.e. "A student can ask do you feel the newspaper
covers students from minority groups enough. If not, what types
of stories would help the staff to reach this goal?") The questions
should just not focus on ethnicity but on all diverse issues
such as gender, homosexuality, culture, and socioeconomic class.
- We will ask
the principal if each English teacher can allow the students to use the
last 10-15 minutes of a class period to fill out the form.
- The staff should
promote the campaign by making posters, fliers, and announcements.
During the Campaign
- Each English teacher will
receive a packet to be given to each student. In the packet will be a letter
explaining the campaign and the staffs’ goals
for the year.
- Each student will have time in class to write down ideas
and suggestions to help ensure that the newspaper staff covers diversity.
- The staff can set up a table in the cafeteria. The table should be decorated
so that it’s visible among the students. There should be a suggestion
box on the table that allows students to place their ideas and thoughts
about the current publication’s coverage of different issues on campus.
- There
should also be a suggestion box outside of the classroom. There should
be a poster board that explains the campaign and the importance of diversity
at our school. Student can drop off their handout in the box.
- The
staff needs to communicate with the student body. Staff members can make
T-shirts with their slogan on it. They should talk to their friends and
teachers about the importance of diversifying the newspapers. The students
should emphasize that the school newspaper should cover issues that students
from different backgrounds can relate too.
Further Readings
- Covering the Community: A Diversity Handbook
for Media by Leigh Stephens Aldrich
- The Poynter Institute, www.poynteronline.com
