Led by Professor Dave Campbell, the introductory journalism students learned through hands-on experience in the community last Tuesday, attending Ferrum Forward‘s September meeting.
Ferrum Forward is a local activist group with the mission statement: “to enhance the quality of life and sense of community throughout the Village of Ferrum.” Each semester, Campbell’s journalism students sit in on a series of monthly meetings.
“A couple of things going on here,” explains Campbell. “Number one, they learn how to cover a meeting. And, you know, sometimes meetings can be some of the most mundane things that people have to cover, but it’s an important skill because we have a town council, we have a Board of Supervisors. It’s important to be able to report on the local government, and so this gives the students a real-world, practical application to what we’re talking about in the class.”
Campbell also sees a benefit in getting students involved in the community in which they call home throughout their time at Ferrum.
“It gets the students off of campus,” he began. “It gets them interacting in the community, in the Village of Ferrum. It gets them making contacts with adults in the community–people who are kind of movers and shakers in the community. The objectives of doing it are tangible, but there is a lot of stuff that kind of just gets tacked on that people may not realize. Again, you’re developing sources, developing contacts, being able to speak with adults, being able to speak with people who are in charge of places and ask good questions.”
According to Campbell, these skills are best taught outside of the classroom.
“Those are all skills that come out of doing that. And it’s not just sitting in a classroom, getting a partner and finding out whether or not they have a cat named Fluffy.”
The students are expected to attend three meetings each semester, and Ferrum Forward Chair Burton White always looks forward to their attendance.
“In years past, having the journalism classes has been very helpful. They always add a lot to the conversations, and we are always so glad to have them here.”
Campbell hopes that the students will continue to have a positive impact on the local community groups.
“It gives the community so much needed and deserved publicity,” Campbell affirms. “The state of the local press right now is that there’s not a whole lot of coverage in this area. They do what they can, but they don’t have a lot of people. What this does is it helps promote these community groups that put in so much time and effort into everything. The students get the experience, the groups get the publicity, and the relationships are forged at the same time.”
Former journalism student and senior Stone Gibbs considers his time covering the activist group to have been a great learning experience.
“I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into at first,” reported Gibbs. “I had to walk into a meeting, unsure of what exactly was going on around me. I don’t live in the area. I quickly learned how open and driven the community around me is, how much actually goes on in the area, and a whole lot of writing skills along the way.”
As semesters come and go, it is Campbell’s goal for more students to have an experience such as Gibbs’, as well as to encourage them in their academic journey.
“I hope this generates some interest in some of the students to join the Iron Blade and to continue what they are doing,” he said. “More than anything, I hope to teach students to not just accept, but to ask questions about what is going on around them. That is the biggest thing.”
