Uncommon sports and concussions. The intersection of fashion, fandoms and entrepreneurship. The environment. Issues of identity and school segregation.
These are just a few of the subjects advanced journalism students chose to take on in their senior reporting capstone projects.
“These projects give our students the opportunity to use all of their journalistic knowledge and skills to answer questions that are interesting and important to them,” said Laura Lindenfeld, dean of the School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ) and executive director of the Alda Center for Communicating Science. “Every semester, students explore a wide variety of fascinating topics, and increasingly, they win national awards for their work.”
During the semester-long reporting project, students find and pitch a newsworthy story of interest to them and receive individual attention and mentoring from their course instructor. This semester, students were mentored by Sarah Baxter, Pablo Calvi and George Giokas. The small class sizes ensure that faculty are constantly accessible to their students to help them refine and focus their work. Stories must be told across multiple media formats – text, audio, video and/or photography.
Nearly 30 students completed their capstone reporting projects this spring; a selection of stories organized by theme is below.
Environmental and Sustainability Reporting
- Aquaculture war: Conservationists and fisheries decide the future of Long Island waters, by Ben Fiebert, a May graduate from Manhasset, NY
- The Water Protectors of Shinnecock Bay, by Maria Lynders, a junior from Guilford, CT
- From Goodwill to Ghana: The truth behind Ghana’s clothing dumps, by Sherin Samuel, a May graduate from Farmingville, NY
- Ripping at the seams: How can we redefine sustainability in fashion?, by Gabriella Santana, a May graduate from Bronx, NY
- You have to think big to live small, by Kaila Stang, a May graduate from Northport, NY
Fashion and Business Reporting
- Being a Harrie: Young entrepreneurs, pleasing aesthetics, and everything Styles, by Anna DeAssis, a May graduate from Farmingville, NY, who wore her cap and gown to see Styles in concert at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY, and ended up meeting Rob Sheffield, a rock-and-roll critic with Rolling Stone
- My Virtual Closet, by Shannon Fan, a May graduate from College Point, NY
Identity and Racial Justice Reporting
- A few miles away, but two worlds apart, by Maya Brown, a May graduate from Freeport, NY
- Battle of the victims: How Asian hate and the housing crisis collide in the city, by Madeleine Lee, a May graduate from Stamford, CT
- Navigating the world with a hyphen: The identity crisis of second-generation Caribbean immigrants, by Ray Wilson, a May graduate from Nesconset, NY
Higher Education Reporting
- Dire Education: An in-depth analysis of the decline in US college enrollment, by Chris Cumella, a May graduate from Manhattan, NY
- Forgotten and undermined: How the student labor movement reaches a breaking point at SUNY, by Juliette Kimmins, a May graduate from Bay Shore, NY
- Shining a light on college architecture, by Deidre Redhead, a May graduate from Brooklyn, NY
Sports Reporting
- Kids aren’t born skating: Ball hockey on Long Island, by Jake Basile, a May graduate from Plainview, NY
- A work of love: The hidden world of pro wrestling, by Steven Keehner, a May graduate from Oyster Bay, NY
- Not just a game: Head injuries in sports are nothing to play with, by Ryan Magill, a May graduate from Center Moriches, NY
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