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com Spring 2023

Students How 2
A news letter for you, the college student who wants to
learn everything better, easier or cheaper.

Welcome to our monthly newsletter Voting

This newsletter is to inform the average college student on
How to prepare to
everything life. In this edition the newsletter covers important
topics like voting, producing news, and pet ownership. vote as a college
student
Article by: Riley Callahan

Producing News
How to shoot
a quality
Hi readers my name is Hayden Beswetherick. news package
I am the editor of this edition of the students
how 2 newsletter. I am a student at East Article by: Abigail Clavijo
Carolina University. I am a communications
student and have been at ECU since the Fall of
2020. I am also a cadet in Army ROTC where
I am currently a 3rd year cadet. I have also
Pet Ownership
enlisted in the North Carolina National Guard
since 2020, finally coming up on three years in How to be
Picture by: Hayden Beswetherick
service. Some hobbies of mine outside of school
and the military is video games and watching Photo of Hayden from a wedding. a small pet
sports. I love watching football and can’t wait parent
for football season to come back. I also enjoy
hanging out with friends and just talking. Article by: Kiarra Crayton

Both the content for this newsletter and the design are created by students enrolled in COMM
Contact Information
3310 Copy Editing and Design in the School of Communication at East Carolina University in
Phone: 910 555 - 3410
Greenville, North Carolina during the Spring and Fall semesters under the direction of course
Email: smithjoe@hotmail.com
instructor Barbara Bullington.
Address: 501 East 10th Street
Greenville, NC
We welcome suggestions for article ideas for future issues.
27858
For inquiries, please email bullingtonb@ecu.edu
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 How to prepare to vote
as a college student
Article by: Riley Callahan
In the current information age, college students
know more than they ever have before. Yet when it
comes to national and particularly local elections,
young people on college campuses are often reluctant
to learn about candidates or vote, and these factors
take a toll on national averages.
According to a report by the Institute for
Democracy and Higher Education, only 66 percent
of college students voted in the 2020 presidential
election. If you have found yourself lost on how to
vote, the tips and words of advice on how to vote as a
college student in the guide below should put you on
the right path.
Go register
Registering is the most important step in voting, not
just as a student but as a citizen. College students are
put in a unique situation in that they have the choice
of choosing where they want to vote: either in the
county of their institution or permanent residence.
The most convenient option is to register to vote in the
county of your school.
“If you choose to register to vote [at school], you
are going to be here during the election in November,”
says Alex Dennis, Senior Assistant Director of the
Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement and head
of Pirates Vote at East Carolina University. “While you
have that option to be registered back home, which
one is going to lead you to voting?”
Find a location
After you are registered, you will want to determine
your voting location. This information can be
found on your state’s election board website. Most
universities in the United States have polling locations
on or close to campus.
Be ahead of the game
Plan ahead when choosing when to vote. Early
voting is a very popular option and allows for those
who have complications with their voter registration
to amend them before it is too late. Voting on the day
of may be tricky if the polling stations are busy or if
they run out of ballots.
“If there’s a problem with your registration they can
fix it: if you’re not registered they can do the same-day
process to be registered to vote on the same day,” says
Dennis. “If you wait until Election Day to vote, you
have to go to that assigned precinct location, and if
there’s an issue a provisional ballot is about your only
option.”
Bring some identification. Most states require
some form of
it to vote, such
as a driver’s
license or
passport. Check
your state’s
requirements
in advance
and make sure
you have the
necessary ID
with you.
Photo by: Riley Calahan
Sticker used to indicate voting.
Educate yourself with the candidates
Be informed. Most local candidates have campaign
information readily available and many local
newspapers report on their respective races. It’s one
thing to go and vote, but learning and voting for what
you want to see in your community has much more
of an impact on not just the ones around you, but even
future students.
“How does a democracy function if you can’t
find information about candidates?” says Dr.
Cindy Elmore, co-founder of Voter411ENC.org
Voter411ENC.org,, a
nonpartisan public service providing local candidate
information to Pitt and Beaufort counties in North
Carolina. “People either don’t vote in local races, they
vote on the basis of political party, or they
just vote on the basis of continued to page 3 2
 In the growing media market, it is difficult to stand
continued from page 2 something
like yard signs. We started out in TV news. So, how do you make a good first
this website to provide some information.” impression with a stand-up?
Make your voice heard
Confidence is key
Often young people are reluctant to vote because
Standing in front of the camera can be
they think that their vote doesn’t matter in the grand
intimidating. However, being confident in front of
scheme of things. But every ballot cast in local and
the camera is the first and most vital step in creating
national races is vital, especially in recent years.
a quality stand-up.
“This is your opportunity and your voice to share
Senior communications major at East Carolina
your concerns and passions,” says Dennis. “Advocate
University, Reyna Crooms, said one way that helps
for the issues that are important to you, and that at the
her stay confident is to go over the main details of
end of the day, you’re not going to agree 100 percent
the story before shooting the stand-up. This way the
with any of the candidates. You’ve got to choose the
information is fresh in her mind.
ones that line up mostly with the things that you are
most passionate about.”
Crooms also said that projecting one’s voice is an
important step in appearing confident.
Lastly, go vote! Make
“I know most of the time you have a microphone
sure to bring your ID
on you, but speaking clearly and loudly enough can
and any other required
improve the quality of the sound more than you
documents, and head
think.”
to your polling place
during early voting or
Crooms said in addition to sounding confident it’s
on Election Day. Voting
also important to look confident. This is something
in college may seem
Crooms said she learned while interning at a news
difficult, but with the
station. Checking the lighting to make sure you
right knowledge, it can
don’t look washed out or too dark, making sure
be quite stress-free.
your hair is out of your face and standing up tall
are all are all now on Crooms’ list of “do’s” when
preparing to record a stand-up.
Photo by: Riley Calahan
North Carolina Local Ballot
What not to do

Viewers don’t necessarily want to see reporters

How to shoot a quality
news package
Article by: Abigail Caljvio
An essential part of being an on-air reporter is
creating an engaging stand-up for both packages
and live stories. A stand-up is the first thing the
viewers will see before they are exposed to the
rest of the story, which makes it similar to a lede
in print writing. Just like a lede, your stand-up
should be how you will first connect to your
viewers.
simply standing in front of the camera holding a
microphone. Not only is it not engaging, but it also
makes it difficult for those who are visual learners
to understand the topic.
East Carolina University professor Dr. Mary
Tucker-McLaughlin said you should avoid standing
still if possible. Instead, you should be walking
toward the camera.
“Stand-ups should use the premise of ‘walking and
talking’,” Tucker-McLaughlin said. “All parts of a
news video should engage the audience, the stand-
up included.”
continued to page 4 3
continued from page 3
That being said, you don’t need to be constantly moving.
Sometimes,
something
as simple as
gesturing in the
direction of
what you are
reporting on
will improve
the quality of a
stand-up.

Photo by: Abigail Caljvio

Abigail conducting a stand-up news package.

Get creative

One of the best stand-ups I recorded during my time

in Dr. Tucker-McLaughlin’s video news class involved
me simply walking under the arches of ECU’s Joyner
building to demonstrate the music that plays when you
do so. It wasn’t much, but it was engaging and helped
me to better express the story I was reporting, which
was about the repairs made to the plaza in between the
Joyner East building and Joyner Library.

According to NewsLab.org, another creative way to

make your stand-up stand out is to shoot it in multiple
takes to piece it together. This method allows you to give
information to your viewers in a visual, step-by-step
sequence.
“One time I did a stand-up where I was standing on one
end of these clothing racks, and I shot the first half on
that end, then we shot the second half of the stand-up
on the other end and cut the two clips together,” Crooms
said.
She said not only did it look cool, but it allowed to shot
to be more engagning to her viewers.
How to be a small pet
parent in college
By Kiarra Crayton
The competitors
Having a dog or cat can be challenging because of
their size and behavior but smaller pets like guinea
pigs, rabbits or hamsters are to easier to easier have in
college and can still provide emotional support.
Imagine trying to find time in your busy class
schedule to run home, take your dog out to use the
bathroom and scurry back to campus. Dogs can also
raise noise complaints from random barking in the
middle of the night.
continued to page 5
4
continued from page 4
The other go-to pet is a cat, which is much quieter
than a dog but their meows can be constant and grow
annoying. Cats also shed easily, which can prompt
increased cleaning time. The day-to-day routine for a
small pet
Ayanna Ricks, a sophomore marketing major at East
Carolina University, said she provides her two guinea
pigs with fresh hay, fruits, vegetables, fresh water and
attention daily. When Ricks was living on campus, she
took them out to the grass area called the mall located
in the middle of the ECU campus, often and she said
that was a way she made friends.
“For class, I would just turn music on most times
because they don’t like being in complete silence,”
Ricks said. “I would take
my stuff outside with
us and I would take my
iPad and do classwork
and stuff and they (Keiko
and Kiro) would lay
around in the grass.”
Photo by: Kiarra Crayton
Guinea pigs in a wagon
The benefits: from a veterinarian
Dr. Linda Kuhn, a veterinarian at East Carolina
Veterinary Service for 33 years, said she thinks small
pets like guinea pigs and rabbits are better for college
students than cats or dogs.
“A lot of college students get depressed, away from
home,” Kuhn said. “These are good little pets that can
make you feel good.”
Kuhn said it’s best to do your research about their
diet. She said when people bring small pets into the
practice, the typical reason is nutritionally based.
Learning the normal activities and behaviors of your
pet is important, Kuhn said because the illness can
be caught sooner. Another thing she recommends is
learning how to trim their nails.
Affordability
Fruits and vegetables were plentiful and free for Ricks
at the dining hall, where she got most of her guinea pig’s
food because it was accessible to her. As the costs of
fresh fruits and vegetables increase, this is an alternative
way to cut the cost of caring for a guinea pig.
“I would try and get the best-looking fruits and
vegetables,” Ricks said. “They always had a variety of
food.”
Petco, a popular store to buy animal products, gives
customers the option to buy a starter kit. The kit
includes a cage, bedding, a water bowl, a food dish and a
$10 rebate for any Kaytee Guinea Pig food, according to
Petco. Buying a starter kit for your small pet would save
you money. All the essential habitat items are in the kit,
so you do not need to go multiple stores.
Petco also offers a QR code that takes customers and
potential small pet owners to a separate website that has
important information from experts and also provides
tips and tricks. Some of the topics talked about are
habitat size, care of your guinea pig and where to buy
them.
A college student’s perspective
Ricks said she loved having her pets on campus and
registered them as emotional support animals. She said
her guinea pigs helped her be more productive because
they were a priority.
“When you have something that you’re kind of taking
care of, I feel like it motivates you a little more,” Ricks
said. “It’s like, oh I need to go to the dining hall to get
some lettuce, now that I’m at the dining hall I am going
to get something to eat’.”
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