At the beginning of the spring semester, I met with Carleton College students who are taking a class taught by Professor John Schott. Schott had invited me to speak to his students about the Representative Journalism Project. Following that meeting, the students set out in the spirit of the project’s goals to cover local news. The stories they produced are showcased here, replicated from a page on Schott’s Ratchet Up blogsite for the project:
Northfield Voices: Town & Gown
Cinema & Media Studies Audio Workshop, 2009
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
By Kat Morriss and Megan LynnThe issue regarding student housing rentals in Northfield is a complicated one, but it is important to recognize where the interests of students, landlords, and neighbors intersect. Our hope is that this project, which explores a variety of perspectives, will foster communication and understanding among the different groups concerned.
LAYING DOWN THE LAW
By Myla Fay and David NonbergAt Carleton College, the various persons and policies that govern the party scene tend to take a more liberal approach to the issue of drinking on campus. In this piece, we were able to speak with the people who were in charge of enforcing these policies. From RA’s to the Northfield police, Laying Down The Law highlights how a liberal policy shapes the on and off campus dynamics between students and community.
WILL WORK, FOR COMMUNITY
By Mary Henke-Haney and Ben BlinkCarleton’s academics and social scene largely isolate students to campus, but one thing easily lures them to town. Money! We talk to four Carleton students who found employment in Northfield, and subsequently had their schemas’ rocked about student conduct in town and their place in this community. Adding perspective is St. Olaf grad and Northfield mayor Mary Rossing.
LEAVING A BIGGER TIP
By Cole WrampelmeierThere are some pretty strong stereotypes about students and residents that each group has about the other. Have these just come from bad encounters at closing time or has the student-resident relationships been strained? Leaving a Bigger Tip explores the students’ business connection to Northfield and how they find their place in the community.
Bonnie,
A very minor correction: Carleton has three ten-week trimesters. This class was held in winter trimester, not “spring semester”, as you wrote in the story.
A similar project was done in the winter trimester of 2003 with a class in radio production led by former NPR reporter, Dale Wilman, who was a visiting faculty member that term.
I took that class – staff are allowed to take one free class a term, if they so desire – and did a long story on Jacobsen’s Department Store. Good experience, although our radio stories were not required to be focused on Northfield. Many students covered stories from all areas of their lives.