NAHJASU Year End Review
By Anthony Sandoval
This December marks the end of yet another wonderful semester for the NAHJASU Student Chapter. In just over a year, our young club has continued to steadily grow and become established as a reputable and important part of campus culture. Here is a review of the 2010 fall term.
DECEMBER
End of Semester News
With finals consuming most of everyone’s lives in the month of December, the club opted not to have a member meeting, however NAHJ officers continued working tirelessly to design and order new T-shirts as well as set up a bank account in the club’s name. The shirts have been completely redesigned from our first ones and include custom artwork on our school colors, maroon and gold. As always, members can earn their free shirt by either participating in club events, or blogging for the website. The bank account will allow us to start conducting fundraisers. The funds will be used for incidental costs associated with events as well as go to funding trips to national conferences held by the national organization. The ASU Student Chapter bank account is just one more step in solidifying our presence on campus and will continue to help the students associated with the club.
AUGUST
Cronkite School Freshman Reception
The NAHJASU Student Chapter attended the Cronkite School freshman reception held at the end of August in the First Amendment Forum. Vice President Johnny Garcia and Treasurer Jacqueline Gutierrez greeted incoming freshmen with an assortment of candy and answered questions about the club.
SEPTEMBER
First Member Meeting of the semester
NAHJ’s first member meeting was held on Wednesday, Sept. 15, in Cronkite room 355. The room overlooks the school’s impressive First Amendment Forum and features the famous saying by the renowned journalists, “… and that’s the way it is,” sprawled across the conference room wall. The cozy room served as the home for every member meeting held this semester. This year’s new officers and advisor were introduced to members and the club’s first guest speakers were announced.
NAHJ/AMJ Journalist Panel
NAHJ teamed up with the Association of Multicultural Journalists at ASU to host a panel of professional journalists to discuss ethnicity and objectivity in journalism. After a busy summer that saw the passage of Arizona’s controversial law, Senate Bill 1070, the hot-button topic of immigration was once again pushed into the spotlight, prompting the student organizations to seek out Hispanic professionals to discuss newsroom conditions. Panelists included ABC 15 Managing Editor Andy Ramirez, Emmy award-winner Janet Rodriguez of Telemundo and Arizona Republic Reporter Richard Ruelas. The event was featured in the online publication Donwtown Devil. Check out the article here for more information.
OCTOBER
Member meeting with Yvonne Wingett and Jesse Sanchez
Yvonne Wingett of the Arizona Republic and her family, husband Jesse Sanchez and infant son Mateo, joined NAHJ on Oct. 14, to discuss the challenges and rewards of maintaining a family while working in the journalism field. Sanchez, a writer for MLB.com, discussed the benefits of having a spouse that is also a journalist. NAHJ members Juventino Rodarte and Marissa Gutierrez were also recognized for their volunteer efforts and were presented with T-shirts.
ASU Downtown Homecoming
NAHJ participated in this year’s homecoming festivities on Oct. 29, joining Sparky and other student organizations on Taylor Mall. As part of the activities, NAHJ met with students and provided Dia de los Muertos style face painting. NAHJ member Ashley Reyes was one of the few students daring enough to get painted.
NOVEMBER
Member meeting with Nuvia Enriquez
November’s meeting featured Donor Network of Arizona representative Nuvia Enriquez. She spoke of the importance of organ donation and spoke to members about a paid internship opportunity for bilingual Public Relations students.
Happy 2011! Welcome back NAHJASU. Thank you for the strong finish to 2010. Some exciting opportunities as we start the 2011 Spring semester. NAHJASU will be seeking Cronkite volunteers to assist in the Feb. 11 ASU ALMA High School Multimedia Workshop. If you are interested in helping contact Anita.Luera@asu.edu. We look forward to more success and more members to NAHJASU.