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?