Kristine+Trickey


 * || My finished Op-Ed piece:

At 8:42 p.m. on September 22, 2010 Rutgers University freshmen Tyler Clementi updated his Facebook status. “Jumping off the gw bridge,” he wrote, “sorry.” That night, Clementi, a promising violinist, ended his life after he leapt from the George Washington Bridge. He was only 18 years old. The details surrounding Clementi’s death soon began to trickle into the media. Allegedly his Rutgers roommate, Dharun Ravi and Ravi’s friend Molly Wei discovered that Clementi was secretly pursuing a homosexual relationship within the confines of the dorm he shared with Ravi. On the night of one of Clementi’s rendezvous, Ravi and Wei filmed the encounter with a webcam and streamed it live over the internet. Clementi found out about the broadcast, and ended his life.  Just two days before Clementi took his life, 13 year old Seth Walsh Tehachapi, Calif. Was found by his mother unconsciously hanging from a tree in his back yard. Seth was openly gay and had been enduring vicious bullying in school that he felt he could not escape. He was kept alive on life support for a week before his family made the decision to unplug the machines keeping their loved one alive.  Earlier, in January, there was Phoebe Prince, the new girl in her Massachusetts high school who was driven to her untimely death by a clique of //Mean Girls//-esque antagonists who relentlessly bullied her both within the walls of their school and over the internet with the words “slut” and “whore.” She was only 15 years old when she took her life; she hung herself in her home on January 14.  2010, it seems, was the year of the bully. But while many wonder what could have stopped these young people from taking their lives, I am left questioning where the authorities in the schools were while these promising young children were being tormented? Where were the teachers that the students were supposed to be able to turn to? Where were the counselors and school board members who have a duty to protect //all// students who enter their school walls?  In all three cases, each of the victims reached out to a figure of authority within their schools. Prince and Walsh spoke to teachers about their torment, while Clementi reached out to his R.A. In the case of Prince, teachers even allegedly witnessed her classmates harassing her and didn’t even bother to step in.  The problem with all three of these cases is the mentality held by many- the mentality that bullying is an adolescent rite of passage. That bullying is so engrained into our lives that it will be impossible to put an end to it. Many teachers and other school officials, I believe, witness bullying and believe that there is nothing they can do about it, that the child will just have to tough it out, to grow from their torment. Though it is hard to swallow, it seems that teachers have given up on their students- at least in one area.  It’s time to wake up and take back our schools. With cyber bullying on the rise, making it virtually impossible for kids to escape the verbal assault of their peers, it is more important than ever for schools to become a safe haven for bullied youth. Schools should be a place where children can go to escape the fear that follows them outside of the classroom. It’s time for teachers and administration alike to eradicate bullying within schools. It’s time to end the pandemic.  Teachers should put their focus on creating a compassion based curriculum. They should be teaching students through example, by living their lives in the most compassionate way possible. Teachers should be the ultimate role models in the crusade to end bullying. They should be teaching their students to accept people for their differences, even if the students don’t agree or understand those differences.  Once schools are able to find it within themselves to end bullying, can the world outside of schools follow suit. Schools hold the key to save the lives of the Phoebe’s, the Seth’s, and the Tyler’s. Though these three children’s stories were highly publicized, there are countless others suffering in silence, and it is their teachers that hold the keys to their survival.


 * Annotated Bibliography**

Alexander, Bryan. "Seth Walsh, Gay Boy Bullied into Suicide, Remembered - TIME." //Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com//. 02 Oct. 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. . This article from Time's website gave me insight into the tragic death of Seth Walsh, a 13 year old openly gay boy from California. This article provided a heartbreaking look into his memorial, as well as details of his death. Seth was one of the younger children to take their lives over the course of 2010.

Carter, Mia. "How to Write a Newspaper Article: A Guide to Writing for Newspapers, Writing Articles for Newspapers." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. 30 July 2008. Web. 04 Feb. 2011. <[]>.

This article from Suite-101.com also gives a sort of roadmap type of assessment of newspaper articles. I appreciated that this article reinforced the "pyramid" structure of the previous article I viewed. I also liked that this article explained the order in which facts were given, and stressed the importance of quotations in news articles.

Christian, Darrell, Sally Jacobsen, and David Minthorn. Associated Press 2009 Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. New York: Basic, 2009. Print.

I will most definitely be using my copy of the 2009 AP Style Book when writing my article. This book will more likely than not be my most valuable resource when working on the Unfamiliar Genre Project. This book will guide me through the strict grammar of journalists. Since I am fully submerging my writing self into the world of journalism, I want to be sure that I am following all of the rules set in place. Friedman, Emily. "Tyler Clementi, Victim of Secret Dorm Sex Tape at Rutgers University, Commits Suicide - ABC News." //ABCNews.com: Breaking News, Politics, World News, Good Morning America, Exclusive Interviews - ABC News//. 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. . This atricle and accompanying video from ABC New provided me with the information necessary to elaborate on the Tyler Clementi project, one of the later teen suicides in 2010 that seemed to really open everyone's eyes about what was and still is happening in schools. Kennedy, Helen. "Phoebe Prince, South Hadley High School's 'new Girl,' Driven to Suicide by Teenage Cyber Bullies." //New York News, Traffic, Sports, Weather, Photos, Entertainment, and Gossip - NY Daily News//. 29 Mar. 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. . This particular article was very helpful to me. I used this article, as well as two others, as my back research to help add credibility and examples to my op-ed piece. This article held the information I gathered about the tragic case of Phoebe Prince.

""Wright-ing" Prompt: Newspaper Article." Newspaper_Article.pdf. Wright Flyer Online. Web. 04 Feb. 2011. <[]>.

This website will be very helpful with my Unfamiliar Genre Project because it gives a very bare bones assessment of writing newspaper articles. I can use their no-frills guide as a sort of roadmap to constructing the article I will be creating

It is safe to say that by the time you reach a college level of education, you have read an op-ed in a newspaper. Though I have read what seems like hundreds of them, I didn't really give a lot of thought to the process behind writing one.
 * Users Guide to a Newspaper Article**

When writing an article, it is best to think of it as an upside-down pyramid: the bulk of the information is at the beginning, with all the supporting details following. When I write my editorial, I will use the upside down pyramid format to organize my piece. The researched information will appear towards the beginning of the piece, while my slant on the topic (bullying) will be filtered into the piece later. An op-ed piece is relatively short- usually no more than 750.

All newspapers articles cover the six basic questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. This information makes up the topic of the article, and is included in the opening paragraph, referred to as the "lead" in the journalism world.. The rest of the information is included in the body of the article and is used as support for the opening paragraph. Op-ed articles also cover those basic questions, however, unlike the average new article op-ed pieces add the opinion of the authors. Newspaper articles are completely, 100%, fact based. A true journalist knows to keep his writing unbiased as to not sway the reader. Unless they are writing an editorial, it is not their job to show their audience their position on their subject. However, it is the duty of an editorial author to show their opinion and try to persuade their audience.

When writing the article, it is important to include researched facts. The facts can help support the slant the journalist is trying to portray. They give the story credibility and can also be used to show opposing viewpoints and arguments to further fuel their opinion..

All articles include titles. The titles, rather than being one or two words, are statements of something that happened in the article.

The world of journalism is home to a strict style of spelling and grammar. This helps create universality among journalists. When writing their articles, journalists keep the AP Style Book handy. This is a guide that gives spelling and grammar tips for journalists. || //Dear Kristie:// //It looks like you have shifted from a feature article to a news article between your proposal and your user's guide. I am fine with that, but if you write a news article, it should be about some current event not already covered in the newspapers.// //For example, an event at EMU or in your neighborhood. Honestly, I think a feature article would be more interesting.// //Bill//