Story idea trove

LSC's NewsNet.

Election Stories - updated

Election stories have been assigned. The e-mail went out on Oct. 3.

24 Election stories

One story each on the contested elections in the Northeast Kingdom:

Vermont Senate:
Caledonia
Vermont House:
Caledonia 1
Caledonia 2
Caledonia 3
Caledonia-Washington 1
Essex-Caledonia
Orange-Caledonia 1
Orleans 1
Orleans-Caledonia 1
Orleans-Franklin 1

Sheriff:
Essex

One story each about non-contested races for:

Probate Judge
Assistant Judge
State’s Attorney
High Bailiff

One story each on third-party candidates for:

U.S. Senate
U.S. House
Governor
Lt. Governor
Auditor
Attorney General
Treasurer
Secretary of State

One story about the constitutional amendment on the voting age.

Ideas for Story 2

Group A: Please post your ideas for Story 2 as a comment to this post.
Ideas are due by the end of the day on Thursday, Sept. 16. The stories are due on Monday, Sept. 27, so you've got 11 days to report and write them.

Guidelines: Beat Story 2
- Minimum 300 words; minimum one human source; minimum one direct quote.
(Face-to-face quotes are worth more than e-mail quotes.)

For Group B, Story 2 is due on Oct. 11.

As I think of ideas, I will add them below. The latest issue of Upcoming Events from CAB is a goldmine of ideas.

- Blood drive at LSC on Wednesday, April 22. Talk to donors; are there any students who have donated an unusually large amount? Ask the organizers how much they collected.
- CAB bus trips: Where? Who decides? What do they cost to put on?
- Sick students? Ask the Brown House if it has noticed an increase in the number of visits from students. If yes, why?
- Swine flu: A year ago, the campus was buzzing with worry about swine flu. We're entering flu-shot season. What does the Brown House recommend?
- SGA: What was the voter turnout for the elections for class representatives? Is that high or low? If low, what does SGA plan to do to increase student involvement?
- Crime: Look through the Public Safety logs for the start of the semester and note the locations of various incidents. Do a story about the most "popular" places to get into various types of trouble.
- Favorite beer? Grab a friend and take a walk down McGoff Hill Road. Count the number of beer cans and note the brand. Assuming the cans were tossed out of cars by LSC students, do a tongue-in-cheek piece about the most popular beer brand. Is it also the cheapest? You and your friend might have to walk down College Road toward the high school, too, to get a good sampling.
- Freshman 15: Does this really exist? Ask the Brown House how much weight freshmen actually gain -- or lose -- and why. Hint: ask about cortisol.
- Excuses, excuses: It's only three weeks into the semester and I've already heard some great excuses from students. One person, who shall remain nameless because he or she may or may not be in this class, fell asleep on a cell phone and did not hear its alarm in the morning. Professors and students can share some great stories.
- Jay vs Burke: Ski season isn't that far away. Tell your readers how the two closest ski resorts compare -- price, miles of runs, amenities, snowfall, etc.

Beat Assignments

ENG 2040 Beats

Group A (X)

Adam Brothers Entertainment
Patrick Carr Politics
Timothy Christ Clubs
Ben Cookson Money
Patrick Hilton Sports
Mike Howard Sports
Samantha Knight Public Safety
Jennifer Morin SGA
Kenneth Potwin Off-campus
Lindsey Profenno Entertainment
Nick Russo Sports
Alyssa Sylvia CAB
Robert Trucott Health

Group B (Y)

Phil Alexander Sports
Jack Carney Money
Justin Chenette Academics/Administration
Kelleigh Duffy Health
Aaron Kormos Politics
Kevin Lessard Public Safety
Erin Milne Administration
Dan Nichols SGA
Joe Peters Clubs
Katelyn Zenie Entertainment
Justin Paul Sports
Paul Shaw Entertainment

Entertainment: What can students do, watch, ride, taste, hear, feel, etc., to amuse themselves? This could include upcoming concerts, a Q&A with a band, Halloween haunted houses, Catamount Arts exhibits, a new restaurant, a weird new dance at the Packing House. (No reviews for the class, but you can always offer a review to the Critic).

Politics: Vermonters will choose a new governor on Nov. 2; they’ll also vote for a U.S. senator and a representative. Closer to LSC, seats that represent Lyndon in the Vermont Legislature are up for grabs. Your challenge: Writing stories that make students care. For instance, how do the Republican and Democratic candidates differ on support for colleges? Why does the University of Vermont get more money than the Vermont State College System, to which LSC belongs? Did you know an LSC alumnus is running for State Senate? Ask a handful of students why they vote or don’t vote.

Sports: This beat can encompass varsity teams such as baseball, club teams such as hockey, and intramurals. It can also cover snowboarding, mountain biking, hunting – pretty much any activity that burns calories. Feel free to cover a game, but figure out a way to make it readable for somebody who picks up the paper several days later (think: how does Sports Illustrated do this?). Profile a player. Profile an upcoming opponent. Stalk a wild turkey. Find out how LSC’s top pitcher stacks up against the competition.

Money: Help your readers survive college without losing their shirts. How does financial aid work? Do students who live off-campus save money? If not, is it worth it anyway? How does a student keep his/her 1987 Volvo alive without going broke?

SGA: The Student Government Association spends your activity fee, primarily on clubs. Elections for class representatives are coming up. How many students vote? If the number is low, what does that mean? Attend a meeting (heck, attend each meeting). What goes on? Do any constituents (students) show up? Does the SGA ever butt heads with the college president? Why would anyone want to be student body president? Or vice president? Does he or she want to be a politician in the future?

Clubs: Much of life at LSC seems to revolve around clubs. You can bowl, dance, role play, broadcast, forecast, and skateboard. What goes on inside the clubs? What are they planning? How many students belong? Don’t belong? At various times, there have been clubs devoted to paranormal activities, chess, liberal activism – what causes clubs to disappear? What are the new clubs on campus? What are the biggest? Smallest?

Health: The challenge of this beat is to write stories that don’t sound like your mother: Get plenty of sleep, don’t drink and drive, eat your vegetables! What diseases are college students susceptible to? How many STDs does the Brown House see in a year? Is swine flu coming back? How did NVRH (the nearest hospital) score on its recent report card? How quickly can Lyndon Rescue get you to the emergency room?

Public Safety: This should be a fun beat to cover. You can learn what’s going on from the incident logbook in the Public Safety office. George Hacking will show it to you. It won’t contain any names, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find out on your own. Profile one of the work study students; what made him or her want to work for Public Safety. Did you know a Public Safety officer is deployed to Afghanistan? If something serious happens on campus, who responds: Lyndonville PD or the Vermont State Police? What’s the most common incident on campus? The weirdest? Dig through the lost and found. Go on a patrol with a Public Safety officer.

Off-campus: This can overlap with other beats such as entertainment and money, but that’s okay. What’s going on out there? Have you been to the tattoo parlor? The Corn Maze? What are the pros and cons of living off-campus? Talk to a commuter student about the challenges of getting to campus in a blizzard. Why do the garbage crews work in the dead of night? What’s so special about Littleton? Do any businesses offer discounts to LSC students?

Academics: The college administration is taking a hard look at majors with few students – what will happen if they are dropped? What happens to the teaching evaluations students fill out at the end of every semester? Does it matter to students if they are taught by a part-time or full-time faculty member? Which programs have high attrition? Are any programs or classes considered “easy”? Go to ratemyprofessor.com and see which LSC profs get good marks, and which get hot peppers.

Administration: This beat covers the president’s office and the people who report to her (with the possible exception of Donna Dalton, who would be in academics). Stories from this beat could deal with recruiting, construction, and classrooms. Where does the Class of 2014 come from? Who lives the farthest away? When will LSC need a new dorm? Will the school demolish Stonehenge or keep it? Why do some professors favor chalk over whiteboards? How does LSC’s wireless (speed and availability) compare with, say, Castleton’s or Johnson’s?

Group B (Y) Story Assignments

(These are due on Monday, Sept. 20)

Phil Alexander: Preview the upcoming hockey season. The Critic often does this by talking to the coach, who is Jonathan Davis. He’ll gladly talk about the team. If the team has a captain, your readers might be more interested in hearing what a fellow student has to say about the season. (How tough a schedule? Toughest opponent? Easiest opponent?)

Jack Carney: What do you do if you’re an LSC student, you’re hungry, and you don’t want to drive? Which restaurants deliver? Just in the town? To the campus? Last year, Pizza Man started delivering. The Hornets’ Nest has delivered in the past and might still. Anybody else?

Justin Chenette: Library closing on Saturdays. Cost-saving move? Any idea how much will be saved? Are students concerned?

Kelleigh Duffy: LSC has instituted a new 1,000-page limit on photocopies for students. Ask Mike Dente, the chief technology officer, for the reasons and the anticipated savings. Are you being assessed a copying fee for the 1,000 pages? What happens if a student gets to 999 copies? Do you have to pay more if you go over?

Aaron Kormos: LSC is starting a new Adventure Recreation program alongside intramurals. Jamie Struck is in charge. It sounds like an effort to leverage all of the outdoor possibilities of this region.

Kevin Lessard: The First Major Activity is no longer. In its place is a community service project (or projects) for all freshmen. Donna Keely is the director of the first year experience and can tell you why it was changed. It takes place on Friday, Sept. 17 – all classes are cancelled that day. Find out from Keely what will be going on, and amble about campus that day to see what you can see. Photos would be great.

Erin Milne: What does LSC plan to do with the new property it bought on the south edge of campus? Talk to Wayne Hamilton, the dean of administration.

Dan Nichols: Earn money by soliciting money. The LSC alumni office is hiring students to work the phones during the annual Phonathon. The callers reach out to alums and urge them to donate to LSC. It’s particularly important this year because LSC is planning for its 100th anniversary. Hannah Manley, the director of alumni relations, can help you.

Joe Peters: Profile Katie Bouley, the new assistant professor in the Exercise Science Department. She recently got her Ph.D. (I think she still needs to finish her dissertation). She’s all about food intake, it seems. And she looks young enough to be mistaken for a student. Has that ever happened to her? Does it bother her?

Katelyn Zenie: The Campus Activities Board sponsors free bus trips for students each year. Where is CAB taking you this year, and when? How does CAB choose the destinations? Kayla Carlozzi, the new RHD and CAB adviser, can help you out.

Justin Paul: Kelly Rossiter is back. He was a very popular Outdoor Recreation instructor before he left a year or two ago to finish a degree (master’s?). He’s back as a part-time faculty member in the Mountain Recreation Management Department (successor to outdoor recreation).

Paul Shaw: WWLR – what does the radio station have planned for this year? New shows? New music? Will it bring any bands to campus? It’s a club and the club had its first meeting on Sept. 8. Who is the new general manager? He or she will be able to help you.

Happy B'Day from the New York Times!

Due on Friday, Sept. 10:

Go to the library and find the front page of the New York Times from the day of your birth. Choose five of the stories and explain in a sentence which news value figures most prominently in each one: impact, immediacy, proximity, prominence, novelty, conflict, emotions. Post your answers as a comment at the bottom of this blog post.

First Beat Story

For Group X, this is due on Monday, Sept. 13.
(Group Y's stories will be due on Monday, Sept. 20)

Group X Assignments:

Adam Brothers: Burke Mountain Music Festival, Sept. 18. Who’s playing? What’s it cost?

Patrick Carr: Many students probably don’t know this, but they can register to vote in Lyndon no matter where they come from They can use their dorms as their addresses. Talk to the Lyndon town clerk, Lisa Barrett, 626-5785, and she could tell you what a student needs to do to register.

Tim Christ: Kelly Rossiter, hugely popular Mountain Recreation Management instructor, is back. He left two (?) years ago to finish a degree.

Ben Cookson: Free Money. A program gives you $2,000 if you save $1,000.

Patrick Hilton: Update on the LSC Capital Campaign. How much is it trying to raise? What does it want to do with the money? How successful so far? Talk to Bob Whittaker, the dean of institutional advancement.

Mike Howard: Profile Erin Rosetti, who has been promoted to director of Residence Life. She was an RHD. She’s married to a Public Safety officer. I think they live on campus.

Samantha Knight: Profile Kayla Carlozzi. She’s the new CAB adviser (the person who sends out the weekly list of Upcoming Events, and an RHD. Where’s she from?

Jennifer Morrin: Profile Shannon Healy, the new SGA adviser and RHD. Where’s she from?

Kenneth Potwin: Kingdom Trails has a new bike trail. Tim Tierney is the executive director. He’s also the lacrosse coach at LSC.

Lindsey Profenno: Which restaurants in Lyndon offer discounts to LSC students. If so, how much?

Nick Russo: Official opening of the new rock wall. Carol Moore says she’ll climb it. Sept. 8. Not sure what time. This is a project of the Mountain Recreation Management Department. J.C. Norling is in charge of it, I think.


Alyssa Sylvia: First theft reported on campus. Somebody stole a laptop and books. George Hacking sent out an e-mail warning people to look after their belongings.

Robert Trucott: Cool internships. Nick Barnets is an electronic journalism arts major who interned at CBS in New York over the summer. If that doesn’t pan out, a couple of others: Caleb Dudley (graphic design) interned at MSNBC; Aimee Lawton, English major, interned for the political campaign of her step-father, Paul Beaudry.