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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,
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