Inspirations from the Newseum.

I had a marvelous time on our class trip to the Newseum last Tuesday. I could have spent another couple days there before running out of things to see. I was like a kid in a candy store--not to be cliche--but it's true!

Here's some things I wrote on my notepad that particularly inspired or interested me:

Vanessa Leggett was a freelance journalist, writing a non-fiction novel about a murder. Because she withheld anonymously provided information from the grand jury, she served 18 months in prison. How protected are journalists in using anonymous sources involving a crime?

Terminology:

"On the record" means the information can be used freely in the article, names included.

"Off the record" means means the information cannot be publicized at all.

"Deep background" means the information is used to help inform the journalist and give him a better understanding of the subject, but cannot be actually used in the article.

"On background" means that the information can be generalized and attributed in broad terms, but not directly.

"Not for attribution" means the journalist can use direct quotes, but must attribute them in more general terms, like the person's title or place in the story rather than using the person's name.

Nellie Bly was a pioneer reporter for women. This girl was a total champ! She went undercover as a patient in an insane asylum to write an exposé of the injustices happening there.

The O.J. Simpson trial got more airtime from 1987-1997 than any other event besides the Gulf War. This was interesting because it brought up issues of cameras being used in the court room. The lawyers in the trial were known over-act for the camera, which turned it into a media sensation.

Mark Twain was a reporter for the Territorial Enterprise, but got fired for making up stories! He considered journalism a form of torture for writers because it forced them to write the truth thus suppressing their imagination. Twain was such a quirky guy.

Ernest Hemingway, Stephen Crane, Winston Churchill, and Jack London were all war reporters at one time.

Don Bolles was critically injured in a car bombing because of a story he was writing on gangs. His obliterated car was at the museum. After he eventually died, his colleagues continued the story in his stead, showing that you can kill the journalist, but you can never kill the story.

Other highlights:

*The 9/11 memorial, consisting of the attena that was atop one of the towers, and a wall with newspapers from all over the world with a front page about the attacks. I watched the documentary about journalists that were covering the attacks as they happened. Though it was dangerous and horrifying to watch, they were so caught up in the moment that they had to stay and report on the story. Even after being urged by police and firefighters to leave, they felt as though it was their duty to show the public what was happening. If they didn't, who would?

*Journalist memorial--so many journalists, especially in more dangerous countries, are killed for their work. It was inspiring to see them memorialized and recognized for their dedication and ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the truth.

*The Berlin Wall--Yes, I got to touch a real chunk of the Berlin Wall, and that felt pretty cool. =)

*The Pulitzer Prize winning photo gallery. I'm not into photography at all, but I was so inspired by the ability of journalists to capture some photos that were really hard to look at, let alone be there to experience. I cried like a baby.

The Newseum was awesome! Everyone, go if you've never been!

Gordon’s Place in the Occupy Movement

While many students went home or just relaxed on campus during quad break, freshmen Isaiah Ray and Sam Jackson had a different idea.

“We just wanted something to do, so we hitchhiked to Occupy Wallstreet,” said Ray. “There was some tension. Whenever something happened, guards would run over and yell, 'Security check! Security check!'”

At night, the two slept under a bridge.

“We couldn't stay at Freedom Plaza because the police were planning on raiding in the morning, and they said we couldn't put up tents there," said Jackson.

Other students have been participating in Occupy Boston. McKenzie Watson ’15 and Stephanie Clark ’15 were in Boston for homeless ministries and thought they would check out the protests.

“Even though we weren’t camping out, I felt like I belonged anyways,” said Clark. “People were giving us signs and buttons. There were meditation tents and prayer tents. There were tents for free haircuts and selling food. It was just cool how everyone cared about each other.”

“It’s somewhat shocking to find people who don’t have necessarily have the firm grounded hope that we have as Christians being more committed to peace and love and goodwill and justice than we are,” said Watson.

Dr. Ivy George, Professor of Sociology, has been going to Occupy Boston every weekend, taking her 11-year-old daughter with her. Even if she can only stay for a few hours, she brings provisions for the protesters who are missing school and work to be there.

"It was about time for public expression and resistance to systematic failure,” said George. “I remember in the spring watching these outpourings of public angers in Tunisia and Egypt and thinking, ‘What will it take for anything like that in the US?’ And I'm very very pleased by the Occupy movement around the world. I think it will change things.”

Not everyone is so optimistic about the movement. Ian Isaac ’15 thinks the rallies are getting out of control.

“The despicable manner of the protests, especially in New York, will not promote anything positive,” said Isaac. “In Zucotti Park, for example, we see incidents of people defecating on cars, vandalizing public property, and even reports of rape. There is clearly an elitist attitude held by some that their cause is above the authority of the law.”

Chris Gavrielidis ’14 is against the protests as well.

“The Occupy Wall Street protesters are not all in poverty,” he said. “Most of them just want to be pitied. They themselves are as greedy as they accuse the millionaires and billionaires of being. After all, they're the only ones in the equation who want what isn't theirs.”

No matter what the views people hold on the Occupy moment, it is becoming too big of a current event to be ignored.

"I think that the Occupy Movement is the most significant historical movement in decades,” said Dr. Robert Talbot, an adjunct in the English Department. “I think we're all going to learn something about democracy from it."

"Gordon kids should go out and visit--see what's up!” said George. “They should take some aid out, donations, food. They would have an opportunity to educate themselves about what the issues are.”