Ten Pins Alley Strikes Out Cancer

By: Chris DeSantis

Test Shots

Photos by: Nicole Galonczyk

photos

Shots on shots on shots

Medium

Close up

Long Shot

Medium

By Joanna Sullivan

Test Photo Shoot

Medium Shot: Tabitha Yeakle struts it in the mist.

Profile: Joanna Sullivan grins while taking pictures for class.

Long Shot: Joanna captures long shots of her classmates.

Close-Up: Buds appear on trees signaling spring.

Taken By: Chris DeSantis

Alex's Pictures

A student relaxes on the stairs, tired on the first Monday after spring break.

A student laughs uncomfortably as her amateur photographer classmates snap away.

A lone bike chained up outside the journalism building.

This bike's gears may need a "de-leafing".... (I'm trying here)

A man takes in some tunes and a cigarette on a break from his classes outside the journalism building.

Grady Blunder Disadvantages Students

Journalism students struggle to independently meet industry standards. 

By Chris DeSantis

Like most students, Gina Borg, senior journalism student at Grady College, has a hard road ahead of her when she graduates this May. Unlike other students, however, her college education might be part of the problem, not the solution.

"I'm confident I’ll find a job somewhere, but it might not be the one I really want," Borg said.

In fact, including Borg, about 25 journalism students will be graduating this May less prepared than their peers.

Due to a disproportionate number of faculty to students, Kent Middleton, the head of the journalism department in Grady College, decided to waive the visual course usually required to graduate with a journalism degree.

“Because we had more students than we had seats in the visual required courses, we had to make a decision,” said journalism advisor Maria Cooper Adams. “Some of the seniors could graduate early, and we didn’t want to hold them back.”

According to Adams, the journalism department had been down one faculty member and was forced to hire a few adjunct faculty to pick up the slack, but that wasn’t enough to prevent exceptions from being made to get seniors out the door.

Dana Balch, a junior public relations student, was accepted into one of the visual classes a year in advance, but she recognizes that there were others who did not have that good fortune.

“It is a terrible decision,” said Balch. “I am shocked that this class isn't required for journalism majors, considering things are moving online these days."

To satisfy their visual requirement, Grady students are usually required to complete only one of four classes; options include photo journalism, graphic communications, new media production and digital media production.

These classes offer a wide variety of skill sets, such as experience in important software applications like InDesign, Photoshop, Adobe and competency in HTML and digital photography. Such skills are becoming increasingly more important in the journalism industry every year - a fact Borg is all too aware of as she prepares to venture out into the industry under-qualified.

“I will definitely be at a disadvantage,” Borg said. “One of the first things employers look to a lot of the time are your graphic skills. If another applicant has writing experience that is similar to mine but also has design knowledge, they will probably be chosen for employment over me.”

Like Borg, Mariah Weathersby is also graduating this spring with a degree in journalism, but her experience in graphic software applications is extensive for a student yet to venture full-time into the professional world. Unlike the typical student, however, Weathersby takes a do-it-yourself attitude toward education - an attitude which sets her resumé apart.

“I do think it was unfair to waive the visual requirement on Kent Middleton’s part,” Weathersby said. “It is vital in this day and age, but he doesn't owe anyone anything. People who take initiative will receive the benefits - guaranteed.”

Seniors to have their visual requirement waived the following semester were given the option to stay an extra semester and take the visual course or accept the waive and graduate on time or earlier.

“After we sent out the notification email, only two students seemed concerned vocally,” Adams said. “I don’t think Dr. Middleton would have waived the requirement if he had thought that in doing so he was sending students out unprepared.”

None of the other 25 students voiced their concerns to the department head, however that doesn’t mean they weren’t concerned as well.

“While I'm disappointed about not taking the class, I would've been more disappointed about putting my life on hold for another semester when all of my other requirements are already in order," Borg said. "The changes felt so last minute. I wonder why the school didn't foresee this enough to make a better plan."

Though the decision to make these curriculum changes was Grady’s, Weathersby believes that education should be more of an independent pursuit.

“Maybe instead of blaming the system, some independent responsibility should be placed here. So what if Grady waived the visual requirement. Take a class outside of Grady,” Weatherby suggested.

Future students have nothing to worry about at this point, according to Adams, because the department has hired a new permanent faculty member to begin in the fall as well as more adjunct faculty.

Currently, this situation appears to have been a one-time phenomenon in Grady history. However, students are wondering if taking one required visual class is even enough for journalism students these days.

“I definitely think familiarity with digital media gives me an edge over other Grady students,” Balch said. “It's the little things; I designed my own business card, and my personal website has my resume on it. I think it helps set me apart in the job market...Journalism majors aren't as much competition to me because my experiences sets me ahead of them anyway. But they are definitely at a disadvantage in their own fields.”