When is an online news site attractive? What is credible? Do "interesting," "entertaining" and "trustworthy" mix? Students at Santa Clara University analyze the quality and vitality of news sites in the blogs featured here. Follow the links attached to each bio below.
"The more mainstream a news source, the more standards it should enforce on itself and the more it should examine its ethical stances. However, all blogs and news sites should maintain credibility."
Watch Lauren Befort's slideshow on multilingual cultural exchange in Silicon Valley.
By Erin Crager
Wearing ruby red shoes, I’m half expecting Lauren to start clicking her feet together when she tells me she’s from Kansas City. But like the tin-man, I don’t have the heart to ask if there’s any correlation between her choice of attire and
where she grew up. A junior and communication major at Santa Clara University, Lauren plans to move to the east coast after graduating, preferably Long Island where much of her mother’s side of the family resides.
Lauren has a lot of family in and around Kansas City. Her father grew up in Shawnee, a rapidly growing western suburb of Kansas City and her mother grew up in Rockville Centre which is located in the south-western part of Long Island.
When asked about common stereotypes she gets for being from Kansas, Lauren mentioned a lot of people are surprised to hear that Kansas City is, in fact, an actual city. Lauren lives within a stones throw of the state border on a street that straddles both Kansas and Missouri.
Before enrolling in this class, Lauren had a blog while she was abroad in Barcelona for her friends and family. While abroad Lauren traveled every other weekend to surrounding cities including Munich, Paris, London, Dublin, Venice, Amsterdam and Sevilla.
Lauren tap danced in high school and is now taking a tap dance class to fulfill her fine arts requirement. She enjoys listening to country music and is avid fan Jay Hawks college basketball.
Her favorite classes at SCU so far have been History 13 with Naomi Andrews, A soviet Experiment with Amy Randall, Intro to Journalism with Barbara Kelley and Comm. 1 with Clint Pardoe.
Lauren is a member of Santa Clara’s Delta Gamma chapter. As a member, she helps the chapter to do a lot of philanthropy. She volunteers at Chandler, a school for the visually impaired and also volunteers at the Glaucoma research foundation. Lauren is a bright student who is showing signs of going far in life.
"When I was asked to set up news on my phone, I gave it a try. For about an hour my phone would vibrate every few minutes. Either I set it up wrong or this feature just wasn't for me. Whenever an update of a topic I had chosen came up, my phone would vibrate to let me know. I realized later that I wasn't a fan of this feature. I canceled it.".
View Sayble Bissen's slideshow on women and work by clicking the "start" button on the lower left:
By Lindsay Damrow
“I’d say I’m a joker. Witty. Sarcastic. But I also am mellow and go with the flow,” said Santa Clara University sophomore and communication major Sayble Bissen when asked to describe herself. Bissen who hails from Kahului, a town in central Maui, attends SCU with a strong interest in journalism and public relations. “Over the summer I worked for a friends PR company,” Bissen said. “It seems pretty interesting.”
Although it is only Bissen’s second year in college, she has earned enough school credits to be considered a junior. “I was a business major but I changed,” Bissen explained. “I’m interested in journalism because I like to write…but I like to write about things I like.”
Bissen is also working towards a minor in political science. My dad [Rick Bissen] is in politics, so ya know, I try to stay away from it all but I find it interesting,” Bissen said.
When Bissen isn’t working towards her desired career in journalism or public relations, she can be found listening to music, playing guitar hero, or on the volleyball court with her friends. “She loves to play volleyball,” said club volleyball teammate and friend Diane Slaught. “Even when we don't have practice, we like to schedule in a little ‘peppering’ to simply chat about our lives and just de-stress while getting in a good workout.”
In addition to Sayble’s exceptional skills on the court, her friends also admire her gracious character and sense of humor. “Sayble is one of the most genuine people I have met here at SCU and she is very passionate and cares a lot about her friends,” explained Slaught. “She is hilarious and not a day goes by she doesn’t make me laugh and I am so happy that I have met her through volleyball and have bonded with her both inside and outside volleyball and created many unforgettable memories with her.”
Senior Jessica Cheung, 21, balances her time between on-campus activities at Santa Clara University, classes, and weekend shifts at the Pearl Café. Cheung, a marketing major, is the Public Relations Coordinator for SCU’s Multicultural Center and a barista at
Pearl Café, a Mountain View café owned by her family. Cheung is currently working on her business capstone project and plans on graduating in June.
Cheung is a communication minor and elected to take online journalism because of its relevance to today’s changing media.
“I wanted to see what online journalism was because it’s a new topic and I wanted to know how it was different from other forms of journalism,” she said.
She dabbled in blogging during high school, but likes that her online journalism blog is more focused. Online journalism makes her read the news more frequently than before.
As the PR Coordinator, Cheung is in charge of designing all advertising material for the MCC such as posters and flyers. She focuses on residence halls when advertising for the MCC. She writes emails sent out by the MCC Director. Cheung created and designed the MCC’s website this year. She is taking a web design class at SCU which helped teach her about html and basic website design.
Cheung joined the MCC as a member of the Chinese Student Association. Her brother, Alex, a junior at SCU is now the Co-Chair of the Chinese Student Association. He and his sister work at the Pearl Café together on the weekends. Alex sees himself as a critic of his sister. However, he does enjoy working with her.
“I prefer working with her over anyone else because we can talk about random things, even though we get annoyed with each other if one of us doesn’t pick up the slack.”
Cheung hopes to find a job involving online marketing after graduation. Her marketing classes along with her communication classes should assist her in her career goals as online marketing needs knowledge in both marketing as well as digital media.
View Erin Crager's slideshow on Sacred Heart Community Service:
By Jessica Cheung
After years of searching for the right path, undergraduate senior Erin Crager has finally found his place in Santa Clara University. He will be graduating in the spring with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism.
The 23-year-old Menlo Park native started off his undergraduate career at Foothill College after he graduated from Menlo Atherton High School. From there, Crager looked into many different subjects, starting with kinesiology and psychology. After three years, he transferred to Santa Clara University, entering as a sophomore communications major.
Crager had a few reasons why he chose to go to Santa Clara. “I knew that I wanted to stay close to where I grew up and close to the Bay Area,” he said. “I also applied to Berkeley, but didn’t get in. But I’m glad that I ended up here at Santa Clara because it is a really good school.”
But even after getting accepted at Santa Clara, Crager was still unsure about which major to pursue. During his junior year, he decided to start taking business courses at the Leavey School of Business. After finding those classes unsatisfactory, he realized that communications was where he wanted to be.
His final decision to stay with communications was based on his experiences with some influential communications professors. “Some of my favorite classes were Intro to Journalism as well as Advanced Journalism with Barbara Kelly,” he said. “I only wish that I had taken her classes sooner.”
Besides journalism, Crager is also very interested in outdoor activities. He likes to go running around campus and on trails near Menlo Park, climbing at Planet Granite in Sunnyvale, and most recently, yoga. His interests are also reflected in his future career goals. “I want to write for a magazine or newspaper someday or even an online paper,” he said. “Maybe in lifestyles or an outdoor magazine such as Outside.”
After graduation, Crager said that he is considering volunteering for the Peace Corps. “I’m not sure yet because I recently found out that you can’t choose where you go,” he said. “I think it would be really cool to go surfing in the South Pacific though.”
For now, Crager is just focused on completing his bachelor’s degree in communications, a subject he can finally be happy with.
Watch Damrow's slideshow on animals abandoned because of the economic crisis:
By Sayble Bissen
Listening to her grandma’s awkward quotes, taking in abandoned animals and having a variety of interests that range from the Chicago White Sox to fashion to documentaries, are just some of Lindsay’s unique qualities that make her a writer with an out-of-the-box point of view on things. With such open-mindedness, she is able to write from a unique perspective.
Her interests include animals, playing the piano, and field hockey. Her love for field hockey was so great that as a sophomore she helped to found the Women’s Field Hockey team at Santa Clara University. Her interest in animals allows her to be a foster mom to abandoned kittens and puppies.
When asked, Lindsay describes herself as “funny, ridiculous, talkative, social, and mellow.” She’s a go-with-the-flow type of person who is able to make those around her laugh and make light of any moment. She loves to talk and meet new people, which are two things that can help a journalist greatly in getting further in their career.
Friends would describe her as a “clown” and someone who loves to have fun. While random can be used to describe her, being a good friend is also important to her. She prides herself on being dependable and doesn’t mind putting herself aside when they are in need.
Lindsay Damrow is a senior at Santa Clara University. Although she was hoping to be a Music Composition major, she is now a Communications major with an emphasis in Journalism. She was born and raised in the city of Lake Bluff, Illinois where her parents and younger brother, DJ (18) still reside. With a love for animals it’s no surprise that she has two house cats of which she adores.
Lindsay is not quite sure what she wants to pursue in the future but expects to return to Chicago where she hopes to intern for a Public Relations, Marketing, or Advertising company. She hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Graduate School though. She also studied abroad last fall quarter in Paris and is now a French minor.
View Evangelista's slideshow on the San Jose Flea Market:
By Alen Mirza
Whether through dance or writing, Santa Clara University senior, Maxine Evangelista, 21, enjoys expressing herself. A double-major in dance and communication, Maxine enjoys choreographing both dance moves and eloquent sentences. "Dance is my primary major because I have a scholarship for it," she said. But if it wasn't for that, comm would be my original major."
The San Bruno native received the scholarship after her high school dance instructor, a Santa Clara alum, nominated her to compete in a contest for prospective students in the area. After winning, Maxine gained admission and a sizable $5000 a year scholarship to attend the Jesuit university.
Trained in ballet but knowledgeable in contemporary, modern, and jazz dance styles, Maxine envisions moving to New York after graduation in order to pursuing a professional career. "It's a big risk," she said. "But it's a risk I'm willing to take."
She also seeks to pursue further studies in dance, aiming for a Masters in Choreography or private study in a popular dance studio. How writing is going to play in her future, Maxine has yet to figure out. "I want to pursue something in writing," she said. "I don't know exactly how or in what way but I know its something I enjoy doing and its something I want to keep doing."
Either way, Maxine recognizes the direction the industry is moving and enrolled this quarter in a digital journalism class to learn more about online publishing. "I enrolled in COMM 142B because of my interest in all of these new innovations that the digital world is producing nowadays," she said. "I figure I should keep up with the times of the changing world of journalism with online media becoming more and more popular than print."
With June approaching, this graduating senior feels the woes and uncertainty so many twenty-somethings face after commencement. "I am definitely excited to graduate and am looking forward to whatever lies ahead of me," she said. "I'm still unsure of my path in life -- whether to pursue mainly something dance-related or journalism-related or even both, but I'll just go wherever life takes me."
Want the point of view of Santa Clara from an East Coast guy? Chris Graham is a 23 year old senior at Santa Clara. He is majoring in communication with a minor in political science. Chris is originally from Boston, Massachusetts. His dream job would be having his own production company for film and television where he would like to “take an idea and run with it.”
Currently he works for the San Jose Sharks. He has worked there for three years now in the technology department. Chris’ job includes filming and DVD coping and distribution. Some of the perks of the job for him are getting to go to all home games, getting to chill with the players and getting paid to watch a game he loves.
After high school, he took a year to study abroad. He studied in England and then Costa Rica. Chris did not like England too much. He disliked the food, weather, and the people. “England failed in comparison to Costa Rica,” he said. While in Costa Rica, he studied Spanish four hours a day and just “chilled at the beach.”
When asked to describe himself, he said “I am creative and good with people. I’m really into things not really as they seem.” This can be seen in his choice of dream pet. Chris’s dream pet would be a pig. He said he read up on them and found out that they are social and outgoing animals that defy stereotypes.
When asked about Santa Clara, Chris said that there were a lot of things he did not like about it. He sees the school as authoritative, “Sometimes the school can overstep boundaries with students.” Also he says he feel professors do not seem to have students’ interests at heart.
At the same time there are things that he does like about Santa Clara. Last year he got to participate in a mentoring program in Los Angeles where he was able to get references for future jobs. From the experience he says he sees himself living there after school.
Watch Myrela's Magahiz' slideshow on this topic here:
By Ryan Truettner
Santa Clara University senior Myrela Magahiz was born in Colorado, lived in the Philippines, moved to California at the age of four and has lived there ever since. She currently resides in San Jose, CA and is 22 years old.
“I’m really quiet and shy,” tells Magahiz. “But once you get to know me, you’ll find that I’m dorky, weird, and random.”
A communication major, Magahiz is Filipina, Japanese and Spanish. She is still undecided about her plans for after graduation.
As far as outside of the classroom, Magahiz enjoys basketball, boogie boarding, and pretty much any outdoor activities. She is also very into music. “I love music, I cannot live without it,” says Magahiz. “Can’t leave the house without my i-pod!”
As part of a class requirement, Myrela will be volunteering this quarter at a homeless shelter for men called the Montgomery Street Inn. While it is required of her, she reports that she enjoys community service and doesn’t mind giving her time at the shelter.
Volunteer work is just a sliver of the experience that compiles Magahiz’s resume. She worked for one year in the Undergraduate Admissions office but is now employed by the Office of Multicultural Learning.
During the summer of ’08 she was a production assistant intern for Forbes and after that she was a public relations/marketing intern for SunWize Technologies. Next quarter Magahiz will be interning as a television production intern at Myx TV, an Asian American music and lifestyle channel.
Magahiz can summarize the things she cares about the most in the world with three f-words; family, faith, and friends. She loves to dance and sing and loves life altogether.
Laughing is also something that Myrela loves to do and tries to do as often as possible. “I have a big laugh for a such a small girl, or so I’ve been told.”
"In today's technologically advanced world, it seems that just about anyone can become a journalist. While blogs and sites such as Twitter pose a threat to traditional journalist styles, these can also be helpful to today's journalists."
View Martinez's slideshow to find out why Bay Area soccer fans are rejoicing.
By Chris Graham
Both of Valeria Martinez’s parents are from Mexico, but when the U.S. Soccer team takes the field the apple falls just north of the tree.
The eccentric but grounded Hollister, California native grew up an only child watching Star Wars with her cousin, spending time with her cat, Panfilo and rooting against her parents when Mexico took the pitch against the U.S.
Valeria, quiet but outgoing talked about her upbringing and quarrels with her parents, especially her mom.
“I’m family oriented, but I think my mom wishes I was more girly.” The 22 year old said. “Both my mom and dad liked soccer, that’s how I became involved.”
Soccer is not the only way Valeria gets her kicks.
“I’ve always liked Star Wars, my older cousin, who was a big influence on me, liked it. Anytime it’s on television I watch it. I’m embarrassed to say that I read the books, and even used to collect the Pepsi cans.” She said. “My mom threw them out though.”
It’s not only her taste in movies or soccer teams that Valeria opposes her parents in. “I don’t like Mexico, the town my parents are from is very dull, very few people live there and I get bored when I visit,” She said.
It would make perfect sense then that the last time the soon to be college graduate was in Mexico was 8th grade, and she was in Cancun on a class trip.
The senior Santa Clara University student is versatile, majoring in communications with minors in political-science and Spanish studies to boot.
“I wish I been a poli-sci major,” She said, “I couldn’t start taking my communications classes until I was a junior, by that time it was too late to change.”
Despite her change of heart Valeria enjoys sports marketing and hopes to pursue a career in the field when she graduates in June.
And the Spanish minor?
“I speak Spanish at home with my parents, I did it so I can keep up.” She smirked, “It was easy.”
View Mirza's slideshow on Assyrian immigrants to San Jose:
By Maxine Ann Evangelista
Alen Mirza is currently a junior at Santa Clara University, double majoring in communication and political science. Focusing diligently on his academic endeavors, his determination to graduate early in June of this year is a remarkable and attainable goal. His interest in studying communication, more specifically journalism, stems from past experiences with writing articles, investigating sources, and his most favorite aspect of all - story-telling. Alen enjoys telling stories through all different types of media – traditional print, radio broadcast or podcast, ,which is also a reason why he enrolled in this Digital Journalism class at the University.
In high school, Alen served as the editor of the school's paper, where he dedicated hours and hours of his time writing and publishing news articles, organizing the newspaper committee, and designing the paper's overall layout. Alen also recently attended an educational program in Washington, D.C. where he put his online media skills to the test by editing and updating websites with information. After returning to San Jose, he realized that he loves the east coast so much that he eventually wants to attend law school there.
Alen's interest in political science comes from his multicultural background as both of his parents are from the Middle East. Issues concerning the neverending quest for peace in his parents' homeland are constant motivations to study international law in law school. In his perfect world, he would want to return back to Washington, D.C. to gain more work experience in a corporate business setting through public relations or other such careers. In the long run, his lifelong goal is to work for an NGO. In his spare time, Alen enjoys the hidden gems of life like watching independent films at low key movie theaters and listening to podcasts by the National Public Radio.
View Truettner's slideshow on what he sees as secretive marijuana clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area.
By Dyani Vanderhorst
Laid back and easy going, 21 year old Ryan Truettner is the type of person that can easily make friends with anyone. Although, he is self-described as passionate and open-minded, one might never guess that Truettner used to jump rope competitively.
The Sacramento, CA native transferred to Santa Clara University after attending Gonzaga University for one year. While his time at Gonzaga was everything freshman year of college should be, Truettner made the decision to transfer because he was not fond of Spokane, WA.
As a Communication major, Truettner is interested in making documentary films. While the subjects that he would like to pursue are not entirely clear, his experiences at two Jesuit Universities have led him to explore the area of social justice.
Currently, Truettner works as a broadcast journalist for Palestra.net. This role requires him to act as a one-man crew researching, filming and broadcasting newsworthy stories throughout Santa Clara. In addition to being a news anchor for Palestra.net, Truettner has worked at the SCU Library as a research assistant for the past three years.
With two jobs and senior year status, Truettner manages to pursue his personal interests, which include drawing, playing and listening to music with Tool, Spoon, and Yonder Mountain String Band ranking among his top music picks. Although Truettner is not a fan of sports, he does enjoy rock climbing, swimming, and snowboarding.
Truettner’s post graduation plans are not yet concrete; however, his passion for the film industry and his outdoorsy nature could easily bring him to his dream job working for Warren Miller Ski Films in Boulder, CO.
Half Irish and half German, Truettner seeks balance in other areas of his life. Regarding politics Truettner says, “I feel very strongly that it takes both conservatives and progressives to balance each other out and I think to be too strongly affiliated with one side is unhealthy.”
Truettner has succeeded in being not only passionate and opened minded but a well-rounded individual. As the middle child in a family with three boys, Truettner says that he is close to his family and speaks to his mother almost every day.
"It used to be that people were afraid to share their private thoughts. Diaries came with locks, journals were hidden under mattresses. However today we blog about our personal lives, we tweet our daily activities almost to the minute."
Click below for Vanderhorst's slideshow on a tribute to Cesar Chavez in San Jose:
By Myrela Magahiz
"The sidewalk is my runway" says 21-year-old Dyani Vanderhorst, a senior communication major from Santa Clara University. She’s an African American and a little Dutch, a Christian, and a Democrat from Milpitas, California who is ecstatic that Obama won for president.
As the current communications director for Cubico.com, Vanderhorst writes about fashion, lifestyle, and entertainment. She helps produce the small start up company’s website and video broadcast, design clothing, and does PR work. Next month, she will be reporting live in front of the camera for the first time, at the Magic Fashion and Apparel Trade Show in Las Vegas. “I’ve been interested in fashion for as long as I can remember,” she says, “When I was younger and I was bored, I would try to create different outfits with the clothes in my closet.”
Her fashion icons are Kate Hudson for her simplicity and classic beauty, Rihanna for her rocker glam vibe, and her mother, who has always proven to be very stylish and classy. “Fashion is a person’s greatest form of self-expression,” says Vanderhorst, “so a person should never wear something that isn’t who they are.” Vanderhorst admits, “I won’t wear something because it’s ‘in’ if I don’t like how I feel in it.” She also doesn’t think that it should cost a ton of money to look fabulous claiming that, “Everyone should be able to afford to look their best.”
After graduation, she would like to start her own fashion publication. She loves to write and to shop so why not combine her two passions? If not, she would like to work in the fashion industry and either become a stylist or do fashion PR like Whitney Port from MTV’s “The City.”
“I really like to be silly and have fun. I laugh at myself. I'm clumsy, and I'm not always put together. I think people assume that I take myself really seriously, and I do up to a certain point. But I really do believe that life's too short not to have fun.”
