Department faculty lead high school workshop

High school students from across Arizona capped off their 12-day workshop at The University of Arizona Department of Journalism by hearing from a UA journalism student who encouraged them at a closing ceremony to "make the world a better place."

The eight aspiring journalists published a 12-page newspaper containing articles in English, Spanish and Hopi. Topics students covered in The Chronicle included a feature on a Hopi anthropology professor, coverage of the UA women's softball team and a profile on a new restaurant.

The Chronicle from 2006 featured the program's first trilingual newspaper with stories published in English, Spanish and Hopi. This year, students continued with the trilingual format. Emory Sekaquaptewa, a professor in the UA Department of Anthropology and editor of the definitive Hopi-language dictionary, translated stories into the Hopi language. He also spoke at the workshop about rules of speech for the Hopi language and stereotypes about Native American culture and language.

William F. Greer, associate professor of journalism and workshop director, has been associated with the workshop for 27 years. Other speakers included UA journalism faculty members Terry Wimmer, who won a Pulitzer Prize while at the Orange County Register; David Cuillier, who is vice chair of the Society of Professional Journalists Freedom of Information Committee; Jeannine Relly, who discussed writing for newspapers; and Celeste González de Bustamante, who teaches broadcast journalism classes.

Students attending the Journalism Diversity Workshop for Arizona High School Students began June 2 by studying news production, media law, ethics, writing, reporting, interviewing, editing, design, photojournalism, broadcast news and computer-aided reporting.

At a closing ceremony June 13, UA journalism major Nathan Olivarez-Giles encouraged students to reflect on the meaning of diversity.

"Diversity is the buzzword now. It doesn't just mean getting more faces with different skin complexions in newsrooms. It means getting different thoughts and ideas out there."

The Journalism Diversity Workshop is sponsored by Tucson Citizen/Gannett Foundation, the Arizona Republic/Gannett Foundation, Dow Jones Newspaper Fund and the Arizona Daily Star.

Workshop Attendees:
Scott Barraza, Mountain View High School, Tucson
Christen Bejar, Agua Fria High School, Goodyear
Daniel Dominguez, Tucson High Magnet School, Tucson
Karen Elisea, Desert View High School, Tucson
Nicole-Eileen Espinoza, Agua Fria High School, Avondale
Jose Estrada, Tucson High Magnet School, Tucson
Sha'Vonteé Joseph, Tempe High School, Phoenix
Amanda Kamphaus, Tucson High Magnet School, Tucson

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