Student organization leaders set goals for 2018-19 school year
Facilitating faculty-student connections, establishing a campus-wide presence and creating compelling social media content are a few of the goals of Media School-affiliated student organizations this year.
Student organization leaders gathered Saturday for The Media School’s annual student leadership retreat, which introduces students to must-know processes and opportunities, such as room reservation requests and funding sources. Katie Beck, Media School associate director of student services, experiential education, also uses the retreat as an opportunity to encourage inter-organization collaboration.
Beck encouraged the leaders to think about their goals for this school year.
Public Relations Student Society of America
Senior Sydney Heile, chapter president of the Public Relations Student Society of America, said the organization will continue to host workshops that give members access to public relations faculty and alumni.
“I want to put my vision into effect, increase our visibility,” Heile said. “They are young and hungry.”
PRSSA is a public relations organization that hosts workshops for writing, video production, InDesign other communication skills. This year, the chapter is planning a mass networking event with faculty and advisors.
Reporters Without Borders
Senior Andrea Vega, IU chapter president of Reporters Without Borders, wants to build a presence on campus, not just a presence at The Media School, this upcoming year.
The organization raises awareness of press freedom and freedom of information issues. Vega said bringing more awareness of free press violations that happen in the U.S. is important for students all around campus.
“Everyone around campus needs to be aware that some people put their lives at risks to tell stories,” Vega said.
RWB is hosting a collaborative fundraising event with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists campus chapter on Oct. 29 to raise money to buy portable chargers for journalists in Puerto Rico. Pumpkins for Puerto Rico is just one of many events the organization is planning this year.
Hoosier Flipside
Junior Colin Dombrowski, president of Hoosier Flipside, IU’s satirical newspaper, wants to build a stronger social media presence through creative and funny satirical content.
Dombrowski’s team strives to be the IU version of The Onion. During its five years of existence, Hoosier Flipside has covered national stories and even organized a vigil for the closure of the Indiana Memorial Union’s Burger King earlier this month.
“I want us to be a presence on campus that campus acknowledges, that people who have been around long enough go, ‘Oh, that’s Flipside,’ almost like an IU tradition in that way,” Dombrowski said.
The organization plans to cover more campus events and attend a national comedy contest at Princeton this year.
News-Decoder
Sophomore IU News-Decoder president Emily Isaacman’s goal for this year is to encourage members to localize international issues for readers in the Midwest.
News-Decoder is a global organization that connects young people interested in global issues and creating a borderless community. Members write stories on global issues and edit with foreign correspondents and reporters from all around the world.
“I joined last year as a sophomore, and I learned so much from working with the News-Decoder correspondents and editing and working on my stories,” Isaacman said. “Getting it published on News-Decoder was something I was really proud of.”
Isaacman said the organization provides opportunities to get clips, reach large audiences and network professionally.