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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2002)
4 H ie CI ac I camas P rint WedNEsdAy, M ay 22 , 2002 National Writers’ Workshop hits Portland JENNIFER KANE Staff Writer The 11 annual National Writers’ Workshop made its way to Portland this past weekend. The clinic, spon sored by The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, is a chance for writers from around the area to get togeth er and learn from some of the top rtames in journalism. Locally, the event was pre sented by The Oregonian, and took place at the Portland Marriott. But this event was not just for those wanting to be, if not already, journalists. Those that enjoy any type of writing would have found a comfort able place with many of the 30 speakers that were there to share their tips, secrets, sto ries and views on the art of the written word. And it wasn’t just the speak ers that made the two days enjoyable; it was also the eclectic mix of some 500 peo ple from all different newspa pers, magazines, colleges, and high schools. While most people were from Oregon, Washington and Idaho, there were a few from places as far as Montana and Los Angeles. There was even a man from Arkansas. The weekend began Saturday morning with the first keynote speaker, Jack Hart, the managing editor of The Oregonian. A native to the Pacific Northwest, Hart spoke of the change of culture in the area. He noted how ironic it was to be speaking on the 22n“ anniversary of the Mount St. Helens eruption, and used this to exemplify how so much has changed journalistically in the Northwest. Thirty years ago this part of the United States was barely noticeable. But he speaks of our region today with passion and arrogance. He referred to other areas of the country, such as Southern California, as “wastelands,” and filled those from this area that were in attendance with pride. For the rest of the weekend, attendees were free to choose from 28 different sessions, with topics ranging from project reporting, plagiarism and sports. Anne Hull, a national reporter for The Washington Post, probably got the most attendees for the first session, filling about 200 chairs with eager listeners. And she played to it well. She came off as the type of person you could run to Starbucks with and end up sitting and talking to for hours, not knowing where the time went. She is an extremely charm ing individual. While most would probably think that lis tening to a lecture about how to be a good narrative writer would be dreary and mind -numbing, Hull was so pas sionate about what she had to say, her listeners couldn’t help but get sucked in. “My latest and greatest discovery is simplicity,” she says when discussing storytelling. When it comes to details, a little goes a long way. She put a lot of emphasis on noticing all the details of a person, place, "DonY take notes. Just relax and be one with the boogie-oogie- oogie.”” Michael Quintanilla La Times reporter or thing, butthen knowing what to put in a story, and what to throw out. She illus trates this by telling the audi ence “Even here at the gift shop, when I went to buy my Diet Coke, there’s Skoal and Copenhagen in the refrigera tor. You wouldn’t find that many places.” The pride that Jack Hart had given the Northwesterners just a few hours earlier slowly dimin ished. For anybody that attended Michael Quintanilla’s semi nar on Sunday morning, it was surely the highlight of his or her weekend. Quintanilla is a Living reporter for the Los Angeles Times. His session was entitled “Confessions of a former disco maniac: The write moves.” Walking into the Mount Hood room of the Marriott was almost like walking into Studio 54 - very dark with a mirror ball spinning in the corner, the Bee-Gees playing at an extremely high volume for 9 a.m. on a Sunday morn ing, and a humongous sign with “Mount HollyHood Disco” shouting in neon col ors. Quintanilla took to the podi um and told his audience “Don’t take notes. Just relax and be one with the boogie- oogie-oogie.” While the ses sion was a nice break from the cut and dry atmosphere of the majority of the workshop, the listeners also took away many valuable pointers. “Good writing can be a snap if you don’t try to impress anyone with it,” he says. He was the only speaker (that I know of) that received a standing ovation at the end of his seminar. Out of the six different speakers I sat in on during the course of the weekend, the most important thing I took away was that writing with passion is crucial; we can’t forget what’s in our hearts because after all, we’re only human. Susan Orlean, a staff writer for The New Yorker, and the final keynote speaker, reemphasized this in a simple statement “There isn’t any story told passionately that isn’t worth telling.” To reach Jennifer Kane e- mail her at jenk403@aol.com or drop by B-104 Clackamas’ Alpha Xi Zeta takes home seven awards ISAIAH CREEL Staff Writer At a recent awards ceremony held in Nashville, Tenn., our very own branch of the Phi Theta Kappa, Alpha Xi Zeta, took home seven awards. Phi Theta Kappa is an inter national honors organization for community colleges based around four hallmarks; Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Fellowship. Each year, usually during the month of April, Phi Theta Kappa holds an international convention attended by 4,000 chapter members, advisors, alumni, and college presi dents. During the convention, internationally renown speak ers address the/year’s Honors Study Topic and bi-annual service program. Education forums are held on topics related to chapter program ming, preparing members for transfer, and member motiva tion. Hallmark Awards are presented to individuals and | fy s chapters for distinguished accomplishment in Society programs. The Hallmark Awards Program for individual and chapter competition is one of two Phi Theta Kappa interna tional recognition programs. The Hallmark Awards recog nize excellence in programs and projects that promote the Phi Theta Kappa hallmarks of Scholarship, Leadership, Service and Fellowship. Recognition was based on actual award entries submit ted according to the require ments stipulated by the Phi Theta Kappa elders. At the Nashville ceremony, Clackamas took home awards in three of the four hallmarks being not recognized in the Scholarship aspect. Clackamas Community College is represented by the Greek letters Alpha Xi Zeta, forthe purposes of identifica tion within the society, and falls under the Rocky Mountain-Cascade Region. The Rocky Mountain- Cascade Region has chapters in the states of Oregon, Utah and Southern Idaho, and is coordinated by Clackamas’ own Dr. David Arter. Although unrecognized in Scholarship, the Clackamas chapter did receive the Most Distinguished Chapter Award for the Rocky Mountain- Cascade Region, and were recognized as a top 100 chap ter on the international level, as well as being considered among the top 25 schools in the Service Hallmark. The success of the Clackamas chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society rests on the shoulders of its members, or you the student. Congratulations are in order for those of you who have lived up to the standards of excellence established by the Phi Theta Kappa. Kudos. To reach Isaiah Creel e- mail him at Zeplemen@hot- mail.com or drop by B-104. How a Student Becomes a Member? -An invitation to membership is extended to those students who achieve the GPA: (usually 3.5) required by the chapter on the campus where theyare enrolled, who have accumulated the number of hours required by the col lege to designate full-time status, and who enj oy full rights of citizen ship. -There is a one time $38 membership fee, and regional fees may apply, but in this case it may prove beneficial to pay, due to the large number of schoT arships offered to its members. Ran u each erors? ’ Do you have what it takes to be the Copy Editor? Tuition Wai vers are a vai I- ableand insanity is FREE. Inquiries should be directed to Maggie Jirasek, v eBtor-ln-chlef, at (503) 65r-5958 X2447.
