The Valley Vanguard Kaitlyn Farley

Spotlight on… The Valley Vanguard Kaitlyn Farley Editor-in-Chief

Editing concerns bettering a piece of writing, but Kaitlyn Farley reminds us that improvement is truly a dynamic process and not limited to text. In fact, through her editor-in-chief position of The Valley Vanguard over the past two years, Farley has continuously sought to improve the standards of the paper as a whole as well as the culture of the staff. By drawing upon her classes and her personal experiences, Farley has demonstrated leadership and initiative that will prove advantageous as she strives, after her May 2020 graduation, to become a full-time news reporter. This Warren, Michigan, native and professional and technical writing major started at SVSU in Fall 2016 and joined The Valley Vanguard that same semester. A year later, she became the paper’s arts and entertainment(A&E) and opinion editor, and in Fall 2018, she was made editorin-chief. Since becoming editor-in-chief, Farley has made it a priority to maintain a high quality of writing, reporting, and professional development within the staff. In Fall 2019, she implemented a more extensive training program on how to write for The Vanguard, which was utilized by new and returning staff members alike. Part of this training program involved offering weekly workshops on different topics of journalism, some of which included writing better leads, storytelling through journalism, and integrating quotes. Farley also began utilizing the use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to develop more accurate and in-depth stories that meet the needs of the paper’s audience. To aid in the development of The Vanguard’s new tools and training program, Farley utilized lessons learned in her professional and technical writing classes. In Winter 2019, Dr. Fenobia Dallas’s Intro to Journalism (RPW 262) exposed Farley to different theories and techniques that she was able to work into her weekly training workshops. In Dr. Bill Williamson’s Editing (RPW 435), Farley was able to create a style guide for The Vanguard that could be used by the staff even after she graduates. Finally, in Advanced Rhetorical Theory (RPW 465), taught by Dr. Scott Kowalewski, Farley was given the opportunity to conduct ethnographic research on the workplace of The Vanguard. This work helped her formulate a plan to improve the culture of the staff as a whole, which is something Farley claims she had been trying to do the entire year. One of the biggest improvements of The Vanguard that Farley has seen over the 2019–2020 year has been related to the organization’s culture. No doubt aided by her ethnographic research, Farley found that many of the staff members felt The Vanguard was too “in and out.” Although she had started implementing in-person staff meetings in 2018, Farley claims that people would only show up to receive their reporting assignments—and then leave. To remedy this, Farley began to make staff meetings more interactive and inclusive. At one such meeting, the staff compared The Vanguard to other college papers and discussed what The Vanguard does well and what it could improve. Farley even put the staff meeting food choices up to a vote each week. Farley explains, “From the very start, I made sure every staff member knew I was there to support them and that they could contact me about anything anytime.” The Valley Vanguard has likewise presented Farley with numerous professional opportunities to assist her journey in becoming a full-time news reporter. During Governor Whitmer’s visit to SVSU in January 2020, Farley was able to meet the executive editor of Route Bay City, where she is now doing freelance work. Her experiences as a reporter and editor-in-chief

of The Vanguard also made her application to WSGW and Saginaw News–MLive stand out. She is now a reporter for the radio station and will be interning at Saginaw News–MLive in Summer 2020. Farley is thankful to The Vanguard for giving her such crucial insight on how a newsroom should be run. Within the innumerable lessons she has learned through her experiences with The Vanguard, she feels the most important to keep in mind involve issues of integrity and purpose. As Farley notes, “There isn’t such thing as an unbiased person, but there can—and should—be such thing as unbiased writing. Journalism isn’t about forming people’s opinions. It’s about informing people so they can form their own opinions.” Although her tenure as editor-in-chief of The Vanguard is at a close, Farley hopes the improvements she implemented will continue to have an impact on the paper and the campus. The following article, which appeared in The Valley Vanguard on February 20, 2020, and was written by Connor Rosseau, is a case in point. Farley says that the topic of exams and funerals came up because of an opinion piece written by a staff member. When readers started sharing their own stories about the same problem, the members of The Vanguard decided to look deeper into the official policy. In Farley’s words, “This article shows that we are engaging a lot more with readers than what was previously true. We only questioned the policy because our readers expressed concern over it.” This article exemplifies The Vanguard’s dedication to listening to its readers—as well as Farley’s own dedication—and provide them with the unbiased reports needed to stay informed.

Students Raise Concerns for Exam Policy over Family Deaths by Connor Rosseau

After receiving student concerns over SVSU’s policy on missing class for a family death, The Valley Vanguard reached out to Dean of Students Sidney Childs. The concerns came after a Feb. 10 Vanguard opinion [piece] about professors asking students to take exams amid a family death. Childs said that in such cases, students should come to him with their concerns. He explained that his responsibilities as the dean of students include helping students who face family deaths or other situations that interfere with their performance at school. “We help them navigate that process with the goal of helping students understand what their responsibilities are and what the university’s responsibilities are,” he said. Many students struggle with deaths of family members, and in some cases these situations have clashed with exam days, which creates difficulties for both the student and the instructor. Childs addressed some of students’ concerns and offered advice for resolving these kinds of issues. “(Faculty) serve as role models for students,” Childs said. “(We want to make sure) we are moving in the direction where everyone understands one another and the student can continue to have a positive experience at the institution.” Childs said college is a place where students learn how to operate in the real world and successfully handle situations life throws at people, including a family death. “At the end of the day, it is about creating that environment where the primary purpose for being here is to help students become their best selves,” he said. He said in the event that a professor says missing the exam means a zero, no matter why a student misses it, there are steps a student can take to advocate for themselves. One option for students is to speak with the chairperson of that professor’s department. If a student speaks with the department chair and is not satisfied with their response, Childs said, the student can always go to the dean of their college. If things are still not resolved the way the student would hope, they can get in contact with the provost’s office.

Childs explained that professors have certain rights when leading a college class. While they must follow university policies, faculty create their own attendance policies. That means professors decide what is deemed an excused or unexcused absence, he said. Childs said he encourages students to seek guidance or assistance when it comes to any sorts of issues between students and professors. “We encourage students to make sure that they are having a conversation with the faculty member,” he said. “Make sure that you are communicating… in a timely manner. In the event that there is a funeral that takes place during finals week, I would have that conversation immediately.” Students who prefer to address a concern online can go to the Cardinal Care notes on the Student Affairs page of the SVSU website. “If there are some concerns involving wellness, safety, academic success… you can tell us what is going on,” he said. “It comes to someone in my office and then we will follow up. There is always someone to talk to.… Students are not alone.”

Reprinted by permission of The Valley Vanguard. “Students Raise Concerns for Exam Policy over Family Deaths” first appeared in the February 20, 2020, issue of The Valley Vanguard.