The following article was written for the Pittsburgh City Paper, an award-winning newspaper serving Pittsburgh and its suburbs.
On a 24-hour deadline, I selected nine students with varied opinions on the budget cuts for education, interviewed these students, and attended a rally against the budget cuts. I also photographed the rally.
UNIVERSITY BUDGET CUTS
By Alyssa Choiniere
Published April 2011 by Pittsburgh City Paper
INDIANA, PA -- Indiana University of Pennsylvania Interim President David Werner announced via email Friday that he will be joining other state university presidents to form advocacy teams against proposed university budget cuts.
These teams will present to legislators in Harrisburg on April 4 and 5 and hold a meeting at IUP March 21 to speak about advocacy plans.
"At IUP, we had anticipated a decline in funding and had prepared various scenarios to deal with it," Werner wrote. "However, nobody expected a cut this big."
IUP is one of 14 PASSHE schools who expect to see a 52 percent cut in the 2011-2012 budget.
IUP students are now weighing their options for returning to school.
"It effects not just college students, but everyone who helps them pay for it," said freshman Jess
Bruckhart, 19, of Johnstown. "I depend on my financial aid."
Bruckhart said she is considering switching to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown so that she can save money by living at home and commuting to school, but her regional planning major is not offered there.
"If they cut my funding, there's no way I'd be able to pay for [IUP]," Bruckhart said.
She was already informed that her grant for high grades was taken away.
"It's a scary time to go to college," she said.
Greg Frailey, 21, a double major in anthropology and religious studies, said he is very concerned that his girlfriend will be able to return to school next year.
"I think you're going to see a lot fewer kids in college," he said. "It's going to waste a lot of talent. It's sad to see."
His personal concern is that his majors survive the budget cut because they are some of the smallest IUP majors.
"I'd like to be able to graduate," he said.
Sean Zmenkowski, 21, is a pre-medicine and chemistry major. Both of his parents work in the medical field, but he says he cannot afford college without grants and loans. He is diabetic, and says there is little money left after medical costs to balance a budget cut.
"A lot of people are here because it's a good, cheap school," he said. "That's why I'm here."
Devvon Horn, 20, a journalism student from Philadelphia, is concerned about the impact of the budget cut on minorities.
"The minorities and low income students will definitely be hit the hardest," he said. "We struggle to pay for college as it is."
Shannon Maier, 20, an English major from Johnstown, said it is already difficult for her family to make ends meet.
"I know my mom is paying pretty much all of her paychecks for me to go to school," she said. "I know there are people who are worse off than me."
Maier sees a reason behind the budget cuts from Gov. Tom Corbett despite the personal impact.
"He's teaching people that you have to deal with what you have, just like a family budget, and IUP is not doing that," she said.
IUP freshman Matt Bullions said that he believes the proposal was made in response to majority demands.
Other students took a more negative stance against Corbett and his proposal.
"Aren't there other things he can cut?" Zmenkowski said, "Like, I don't know, his salary?"
Other students said that these budget cuts show education is not a priority for the government.
IUP student Tiffany Murdy, 26, said that Corbett should re-evaluate the areas in which budgets are being cut. She is an English major and the president of the Residence Hall Council for the Putt and Delaney suites.
"It seems to me that he really doesn't care about the future of this country," Murdy said, "because we are the future."
She said she believes that the budget cut may have an immediate positive effect for the state as a whole, but that the long-term effects will be negative.
"It will be helpful to the economy," Murdy said, "but at what cost to the people?"
Murdy said that few Pennsylvania residents will be educated, which will leave the state lacking for people to fill upper-level positions.
Kelsey Gross, 20, is a member of IUP Rapid Response, a campus activism group. She says that the budget cuts will have a lasting negative impact on the state.
"There will be more people flooding the job market," she said. "A lot of bright people will be lost to other states. Pennsylvania will not be able to compete."
She says that the budget cuts will significantly hurt the working class, "the backbone of Pennsylvania."
Frailey agrees that the budget cuts will negatively effect the economy.
"We're going to have a lot of improperly trained kids going out into the workforce," he said. "College keeps people on a good track in that age in life."
Zmenkowski says that the divide between upper and lower class people will grow due to a lack of affordable education.
Horn, too, fears that the budget cut will further deteriorate the economy.
"A large amount of people won't be able to afford to go to college, thus creating a chain reaction," he said. "The plan will actually backfire."
Students are responding to the budget cuts by signing petitions and holding rallies and meetings. A strategy meeting for IUP Rapid Response will be held March 18 and students will gather to rally March 22.
Murdy said that the impact of these events will depend on the amount of student participation.
"I'm hoping that it will show people in higher positions that we, as students, are willing to do anything in our power to continue our education," she said.
The following article was published in the Hawaii Newsblotter, on online newspaper focusing on local issues.
I contacted and interviewed subjects and composed the article on an assigned topic.
HAWAII HARNESSES THE POWER OF WIND
By Alyssa Choiniere Published July 2009 by Newsblotter.org
The wind farm power cable project is the invention that may save Hawaii from both economic and environmental dilemma. Innovation is the key factor to maintaining stability in the current economic and environmental crisis, and the greatest accomplishment of this century may be in harnessing the invisible force of wind.
The project involves the construction of an undersea power cable which would connect wind farms between islands so that the power is shared, limiting oil dependency.
"Hawaii is the state with the most dependance on oil," said Brian Taylor, Dean of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii.
Taylor is contracted by the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to conduct a survey of the sea floor. The goal is to provide detailed information on the ocean floor, including depths, wreckage, topography, and other information.
This survey will be used as part of an Environmental Impact Statement which is expected to qualify the project for economic stimulus funds and show the merit of the project. It will also be used to determine if the project is even feasible.
"We can't get to the Big Island," said Taylor, explaining his survey results and the problem of the depth of the sea bed surrounding the Big Island. "There is no engineering capability to lay such a cable."
"At this point, the Big Island is not going to be considered," said Ted Peck, the state energy program administrator.
Their focus is connecting Maui to Oahu through future wind farms on Lanai and Malakai. In the meantime, the plan is to speak to residents, determine the positive impact for those residents, and to qualify for economic stimulus funds.
This project was initiated by a proposition from Gov. Linda Lingle, who is committed to overturn the state's oil dependency by obtaining 70 percent of energy from clean sources by 2030.
Peck has not yet determined specific elements of the project such as the number of jobs that the project will create or the monetary impact. But, he says, "It will be a significant project."
The plans for the wind farm are much like the building plans for a power plant, but with one significant alteration: "No emissions," Peck said.
The power plant will be approximately 5 acres in size. It will harness the trade winds, convert the power to energy, and share the energy among the other islands via a 30-mile connector cable.
Hawaii has an extraordinarily high population density. This creates a previously unmet need for renewable energy.
"Hawaii is not as endowed with renewable energy as other islands," Taylor said. This is primarily due to the fact that the majority of the volcanoes of Hawaii are inactive. "It's all about connecting thermal energy conversion," Taylor said.
For now, the focal point of the project is completing the undersea survey and the Environmental Impact Statement. But, according to Peck, no action will be taken until the voice of the communities is heard.
The following article was written for a news reporting class. The assignment was to compose a meeting article based on an event of our choice. I selected a symposium on The Right to Know Law.
I selected candidates for interviews, conducted the interviews, and composed the article.
The following article was written for a news reporting class. The assignment was to compose a meeting article based on an event of our choice. I selected a symposium on The Right to Know Law.
I selected candidates for interviews, conducted the interviews, and composed the article.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
By Alyssa Choiniere Written April 3, 2010
The Right to Know Law will soon be re-examined, said Mark Sculforo, an auditor of the law, in a symposium at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Wednesday.
The Right to Know Law was signed by Gov. Edward G. Rendell on Feb. 14, 2008, and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2009. It states that all government documents should be assumed public until proven otherwise. The law has been the subject of several debates, according to the symposium panelists.
Scolforo said that three audits of the Freedom of Information occurred in the past 11 years. In October, they audited the Right to Know Law to see how it had taken effect.
It was tested by sending people to ask for documents which are clearly declared open by the Right to Know Law, including resumes, police blotters and grant applications, he said. The test yielded an 85 percent success rate, compared to 75 percent in the previous test. For grant applications, 64 of 65 attempts were successful.
"Police records continue to be an issue," Scolforo said.
Barry Fox, deputy director of the Office of Open Records, said many anticipated that the law would be used most by media, but approximately 90 percent of the appeals his office received are from citizens.
One of the current problems with the law, he said, is that it has no limits. He said some requests are impossible to fulfill within the time limit, and that there should be a way to deny impractical requests. One man, said Fox, requested 250 documents.
Inmates are also popular requestors, he said.
"They fall into one of two categories," he said. "The document proving my innocence is out there, or, 'I wonder who made these bunks?'"
Another current issue with the law is the number of agencies requesting exemption from it.
"Most of them are for very good reasons," according to panelist Melissa Melewsky, legal advocate for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association .
The 911 Response log is an issue of exemptions. The time an ambulance takes to get somewhere is public, but where they are coming from is not, Melewsky said.
However, the law brought Pennsylvania from one of the lowest rankings to one of the highest in terms of government transparency, according to Eric Eberling, executive editor of the Indiana Gazette. He compared the state's transparency based on his work in journalism in Maryland and Vermont.
The law states that upon request of a document, the agency should respond within five business days. If they do not, the requestor may assume that the request has been denied. If an agency denies access to a record without good reason, they may be fined up $1,500, according to the law.
The burden is now on the government to prove a record is not public, instead of on the citizen to prove it is public, Melewsky said.
"The flip of the presumption has been the most important change to this law," Melewsky said.
Prior to the Right to Know Law, the only option for gaining access to documents once the request was denied was to start a lawsuit, she said. Now, if a request is denied, a citizen may go to the Office of Open Records to contest the decision.
This office was created soon after the law was put into effect to ensure it is followed. If the Office also denies the request, the requestor may start a lawsuit for access.
"It's certainly kept a lot of people out of court," Melewsky said.
Fox said that his location has received approximately 1,200 appeals. There have been approximately 120 court cases across the state challenging the decisions of the Office.
Melewsky said that anyone interested in the law should take action to protect it.
"It's a vast improvement, but it's not safe," she said. "It's under attack."
The symposium drew an audience of approximately 150 people. The majority were students.
Christine J. Calhoun, 51, a junior journalism student at IUP, said the symposium was an eye-opening experience, and she was glad for the information on the law.
"I think it's a good idea," she said, "but I also admit to a certain amount of ignorance on it."
She said the law needs more publicity.
"I think it opens doors for all of us as individuals," she said. "It gives us a credible opening to figure things out."
Jesse A. Johnson, 19, a sophomore journalism major at IUP, said he has a "personal attachment" to the law.
"I personally tried to request information in the past and was shot down," Johnson said.
When asked what information he was requesting, he said he would prefer not to disclose that information.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOLDS RIGHT TO KNOW LAW SYMPOSIUM
By Alyssa Choiniere Written April 3, 2010
The Right to Know Law will soon be re-examined, said Mark Sculforo, an auditor of the law, in a symposium at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Wednesday.
The Right to Know Law was signed by Gov. Edward G. Rendell on Feb. 14, 2008, and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2009. It states that all government documents should be assumed public until proven otherwise. The law has been the subject of several debates, according to the symposium panelists.
Scolforo said that three audits of the Freedom of Information occurred in the past 11 years. In October, they audited the Right to Know Law to see how it had taken effect.
It was tested by sending people to ask for documents which are clearly declared open by the Right to Know Law, including resumes, police blotters and grant applications, he said. The test yielded an 85 percent success rate, compared to 75 percent in the previous test. For grant applications, 64 of 65 attempts were successful.
"Police records continue to be an issue," Scolforo said.
Barry Fox, deputy director of the Office of Open Records, said many anticipated that the law would be used most by media, but approximately 90 percent of the appeals his office received are from citizens.
One of the current problems with the law, he said, is that it has no limits. He said some requests are impossible to fulfill within the time limit, and that there should be a way to deny impractical requests. One man, said Fox, requested 250 documents.
Inmates are also popular requestors, he said.
"They fall into one of two categories," he said. "The document proving my innocence is out there, or, 'I wonder who made these bunks?'"
Another current issue with the law is the number of agencies requesting exemption from it.
"Most of them are for very good reasons," according to panelist Melissa Melewsky, legal advocate for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association .
The 911 Response log is an issue of exemptions. The time an ambulance takes to get somewhere is public, but where they are coming from is not, Melewsky said.
However, the law brought Pennsylvania from one of the lowest rankings to one of the highest in terms of government transparency, according to Eric Eberling, executive editor of the Indiana Gazette. He compared the state's transparency based on his work in journalism in Maryland and Vermont.
The law states that upon request of a document, the agency should respond within five business days. If they do not, the requestor may assume that the request has been denied. If an agency denies access to a record without good reason, they may be fined up $1,500, according to the law.
The burden is now on the government to prove a record is not public, instead of on the citizen to prove it is public, Melewsky said.
"The flip of the presumption has been the most important change to this law," Melewsky said.
Prior to the Right to Know Law, the only option for gaining access to documents once the request was denied was to start a lawsuit, she said. Now, if a request is denied, a citizen may go to the Office of Open Records to contest the decision.
This office was created soon after the law was put into effect to ensure it is followed. If the Office also denies the request, the requestor may start a lawsuit for access.
"It's certainly kept a lot of people out of court," Melewsky said.
Fox said that his location has received approximately 1,200 appeals. There have been approximately 120 court cases across the state challenging the decisions of the Office.
Melewsky said that anyone interested in the law should take action to protect it.
"It's a vast improvement, but it's not safe," she said. "It's under attack."
The symposium drew an audience of approximately 150 people. The majority were students.
Christine J. Calhoun, 51, a junior journalism student at IUP, said the symposium was an eye-opening experience, and she was glad for the information on the law.
"I think it's a good idea," she said, "but I also admit to a certain amount of ignorance on it."
She said the law needs more publicity.
"I think it opens doors for all of us as individuals," she said. "It gives us a credible opening to figure things out."
Jesse A. Johnson, 19, a sophomore journalism major at IUP, said he has a "personal attachment" to the law.
"I personally tried to request information in the past and was shot down," Johnson said.
When asked what information he was requesting, he said he would prefer not to disclose that information.
