The Mysteries of Journalism

By Jasleen Villamil

Staff Writer

I’m sure you’ve never thought twice about how a newspaper is made. You scan the first two paragraphs of an article and move on. If you’re the type to finish and even read the small boxes of print on the sides, I applaud you. Fact is many people don’t read it all, and I never thought about the process. But, I shouldn’t put you in that category, right? I used to be the person who thought journalism was boring, until this workshop in February at Baruch College instructed by Katina Paron.

Let’s just say getting to the journalism workshop, wasn’t easy. I first went into the wrong building, where the security guard told Xylina, who is co-editor of The Crotona Review, that the college was closed and that we should go home. He had a flirtatious smirk, and we thought he was playing. We told him we were high school students and that this wasn’t a college class. He laughed and said, “The buildings are still closed; you’re really only high school students?”

I asked him where 55 Lexington Avenue was and I pointed to the paper with the information, which he proceeded to read. Ignoring my question he asked, “So you’re here to worship?” I looked at Xylina and we decided he would be no help to us. We thought we had misunderstood the date and come all that way for nothing. Except the date was on the paper, and so was the address. We weren’t even on the right street, so we tried to find the correct building before we decided to bail.

In fact, Baruch was closed, but the workshop was still on. We were let into the building and almost got lost again looking for the room. Ms. Paron invited us in. There were bagels and orange juice. We were embarrassed that we were late, but she included us immediately and made us feel welcomed.

The group was divided in half, because it was big. We joined the smaller group. She asked about our school’s newspaper. Compared to all the other students and their school newspapers, we felt intimidated. Our school’s newspaper is just a blog right now, and we basically are starting up from scratch, never having done journalism before. Other people were talking about their techniques and how they put together their newspapers, which made me second guess my enthusiasm for writing. And then it was time for the tour of The Ticker, which is Baruch College’s newspaper.

The two people, who led the tour were very enthusiastic about what they did. Basically it looked like a computer lab, and it had a view over the lobby of the building. They were the chief editors of sections of the newspaper. They said they had been up all night to complete their newspapers themselves. They offered us some Hershey kisses, but that didn’t perk us up. Everyone was tired as they explained the processes of how they organized and came up with news ideas. There went our enthusiasm. Listening about technical processes isn’t fun, but this is where I learned how much actual work goes into a newspaper.

Every little article and ad in that newspaper you open is planned. We take it for granted, but depending how big your newspaper is, that is a lot of work. For each section of the newspaper there is an editor. Sections include sports, features, news, and opinions for starters. And depending on when your newspaper is being printed, the editors are in charge in figuring out what goes into them and where. The editors don’t write all the articles themselves; their job is to read and edit the writers’ articles. We learned they have meetings, in deciding how many pages they need their section to be, and then they have really short deadlines in which to fill them.

I find the power they have over picking out the many articles that people send them a thrill. I secretly thought to myself I would want to do that. But it is also a lot of work because they must continuously edit other people’s articles, stay up late to meet deadlines, and they are also reporters, which means they get to meet people and go to events. It depends what is your cup of tea. Not everyone writing for the newspaper were even journalism majors. For example, they said the person in charge of the science and technology section is in Pre-med, and they said he rarely puts any medical articles in his section.

The rest of the workshop was actually a workshop, in which we learned how to write leads. There’s a certain format to newspaper articles if you haven’t noticed, and I had trouble getting them down pat, but after a while I started thinking like a reporter. Everything to me had an alternative view to think about. I realized there is a lot more to news stories than I thought. It made me think more about how I was going to write articles without putting in too much information, invading peoples’ privacy, and what angle was I going to take on the story. We got to see the other kids’ newspapers, and when we looked at the articles in our blog, which were boring, we vowed we would change Crotona Academy’s newspaper so it would not be what it was.

The other kids came from schools much different then ours, and had activities and story topics, such as crowded hallways, which probably would not even be a problem in our school. Next to ours, their problems seemed trivial. They seemed very proper and correct, and at our school, a transfer school, things just don’t flow that way. They have hallway congestion, sports teams, and speak proper and are against drug use and gang violence. The workshop showed us the reality of our two different situations. We just have different stories. It gave me an interesting viewpoint and appreciation for reading the newspaper. Hopefully you will think twice about the person who wrote the article you’ll read in the newspaper next time.

Submit Now!

Welcome to The Crotona Academy Review, a place where students have the power to express themselves and display their talents for the world to see. This blog is created by students who attend Crotona, and is open to anyone who is interested in sharing their work with our readers. We depend on the creativity of our staff and the help of our students to keep this blog updated. The purpose of the Review is not only to show you our amazing work but to also get more students involved. We are looking for creative students who have pictures, poems, drawings, writings, thoughts, ideas, etc. that they can share to make our blog full of diversity. This is a non-judgmental spot. If you feel you would like to submit something, don’t be shy and join in. Be a part of our blog community by commenting below or simply emailing Ms. Becker at msbecker4@gmail.com or me at xylinamiracle@gmail.com Thanks and enjoy! Remember: students are always welcome!
—Xylina M. Ortiz

Saggin' Pants

By Xylina Ortiz

Staff Writer

I bet you have seen the new fashion trend, right? I mean it’s like going around all over New York City especially in school. Everyone’s doing it even the cute guys and popular girls. I know you know about the pants below the waist with boxers exposed. See, that’s the trend most people in New York City and Crotona Academy High School follow. The sagging pants seem to be the coolest fashion trend of our time. Everyone knows that this fashion trend came from jail, but I mean who bothers to listen? Teens don’t mind that it came from jail because I mean everyone’s doing it, even celebrities. So why would they stop? In Crotona, you roam the campus and see nothing but tight clothes and sagging pants. Some students often argue with teachers on campus, saying, “I wear my clothes however I feel like it.” I think we can all conclude that we freely express ourselves with our clothing.

According to Ms. Scott, a Social Studies teacher here at Crotona, dressing like this is just a phase that some teenagers go through. She says she is very understanding of “the impact this may have on some young people.”

Ms. Scott says there are potential dangers in wearing pants below the waist. “This could be a safety hazard. It’s like accidents waiting to happen,” she says. She thinks that pants below the waist can lead to falling or tripping. She also stated, “This is a sanitation and hygiene issue.” During the day, she added, we sweat and our body rejects fluids not because we are dirty but because that’s how our body functions. She says that when your pants are below your waist, your bottom could potentially be exposed to many bacteria and germs that an individual may come in contact with while commuting to work or school. Germs could be spread by sitting on chairs, bus seats, train seats, etc or when using public restrooms, according to Ms. Scott.

Ms. Scott believes that sagging pants may send off “the wrong messages concerning our young people. Young men do not want to give off a negative impression but unfortunately some members of our society take it as a negative impression,” she says. The pants below the waist may be a fashion trend that’s cool but in the professional world, it may be taken as an insult or in a negative way, she says.

Some students agree and some students disagree with Ms. Scott’s theory. Montel Vargas says, “Sagging is more comfortable. It is also today’s style and my style.” He believes this is not a teen phase that he and other young men go through, but it is simply just a style. He understands that teachers do not want to see his pants below the waist, but he claims, “It expresses your style.” Montel admits that he feels this type of style affects his appearance so that people may portray him as a drug dealer or high school dropout, but he said that is not his intention. A style is a style and he feels it shouldn’t be such a big deal. Montel also admits he feels like this style is unattractive to the opposite sex, but it’s the comfort of the sagging that makes him want to keep his pants below the waist.

Montel disagrees with Ms. Scott’s hygiene and sanitation theory. He believes that if you’re clean enough, you wouldn’t be passing germs around. He adds that the germs are already there, so sagging shouldn’t be the blame for germs flowing around. Montel also feels it’s unfair that society focuses on young men with pants below the waist rather then girls showing too much skin.

“But why girls be half naked and it’s all good?” he says. Girls tend to wear short shorts and small clothing that shows way too much skin, so why aren’t people complaining about that, he wonders. He feels that society should be focused on both genders equally because if his style is such a bad idea. then girl’s style should be a bad idea too.

On the other hand, Ashlee Robinson, also a student at Crotona, actually agrees with Ms. Scott’s theory. “Ew, what is that!” she says she thinks when she sees a boy sagging his pants. She feels that sagging reveals too much of what a girl shouldn’t be seeing. But then Ashlee expresses the difference between “okay sagging” and “dirty sagging.”

“Okay sagging is when the pants sag just a little, when you can’t see your whole butt,” Ashlee says. “Now dirty sagging is when your butt is just all out!” The difference sets the bar to Ashlee because she believes the way you sag is the way people judge your appearance. She states too much sagging gives off negative thoughts to society while little sagging can be related to a style trend that is safer. Ashlee agrees that this is today’s fashion, and that negative appearance is not what is intended. Simply, it’s just a style to her as well. She agrees with Ms. Scott that sanitation and hygiene are an issue. She feels that exposing your body to germs is not safe, and wearing your pants below the waist is exposing your body to germs.

Different students at Crotona Academy feel different ways towards the fashion trend of sagging. I encourage all students to express your feelings on this issue here or drop us an email or text and tell us how you feel.
Xylina Ortiz is an editor at The Crotona Review.