As a rising senior, I have taken a lot of classes at Cabrini University; especially considering all of the Communication major requirements, Political Science minor requirements, and general education classes.
By far, my favorite classes that I have taken are the journalism classes. There are two levels of journalism; Journalism l and Journalism ll. Both are year-long courses, running from August to May.
The first journalism course is for staff writers and assistant editors (when the time comes). It is a required course for all Communication majors and teaches the students how to write for a multimedia news organization. Staff writers are trained on how to write articles for four different sections: perspectives, sports, lifestyles, and news.
During the spring semester, staff writers have the option to step into a leadership position by becoming assistant editors. These assistant positions prepare students to step into Journalism ll.
Journalism ll is nicknamed the “editor’s class.” It is the class where students learn how to be editors for a news organization while also being in charge of The Loquitur, the school's student-run news organization. This class also runs from August to May, but also students work throughout the summer to make sure the Loquitur has the smoothest and best year possible.
These classes have been my favorites because they allow for more than just being a student-journalist. The courses connect you with your peers through a lot of teamwork. Everyone bonds over the hard work you are putting into creating a newspaper that will be printed, distributed on campus, and read every other week.
Going to classes with the editors and staff writers is a unique experience. When you are in class with 50 other students - the largest class Cabrini has - and you are learning about how to write a good article and what information needs to be written about, it is an incredibly cool feeling.
It allows you to realize that without journalism, we would not have the same society we have today. It has shaped and pushed our society forward and is a huge part of connecting Americans with each other and the world.
It is also somewhat unique to be able to run the Loquitur as a student. As editors in Journalism ll, students are tasked with "laying out" the printed edition of the paper using Adobe Illustrator and sending it to the printer to be set on newsstands on a biweekly basis. We put the best articles in the print editions and make sure it is circulated all over campus for all of Cabrini’s community to enjoy - or to find out the latest breaking news about the school.
Working on putting together the print editions, participating in the larger classes, and assigning stories to staff writers can be stressful, but are great times. Both journalism coureses allow you to get closer with your peers and learn to work well as a collective team.