News Writing & Reporting

WKSU | Ideastream

Advocates Face Challenges in Reforming Ohio’s Sentencing Laws

July 22, 2021

The number of offenses for which someone can be charged with a felony in Ohio has increased more than five-fold since the 1970s. And advocates say criminal sentencing remains uneven and tough to navigate. Ohio’s legislators have been passing bills to help people after they leave prison, but little is being done to reduce the number of people heading there in the first place. Read more.

School Districts Look for Opportunities in Pandemic Pivot

June 8, 2021

The past year has forced school districts to pivot overnight. While that’s been frustrating, some districts also see it as an opportunity. In the case of the Canton City School District, its Design for Excellence plan promises to increase courses and extra-curriculars, reduce spending and boost performance. Read more.

Resettlement Agencies Struggle with Education Needs of Refugee Children

April 26, 2021

As the Biden Administration tries to figure out how many refugees it will allow in the U.S. over the next five months, agencies across Ohio are preparing to meet the tight deadlines to help refugees adapt to life in America. Resettlement agencies support refugees in the first 90-days after their arrival with services such as registering for Social Security, finding jobs, and enrolling children in school. For WKSU’s Learning Curve, we report on how all of that got more complicated during the pandemic and during all four years of the Trump administration. Read more.

Student Teaching Struggles: COVID-19 Puts a Damper on Experiences, but Educators in the Making Forge Ahead

April 6, 2021

For education majors, student teaching is the capstone, the time when they step into the classroom and immerse themselves in their subjects and their students. Only last year … many didn’t. For our education project, Learning Curve, we report on efforts by professors, mentor teachers, college administrators, and the student teachers themselves to overcome the limits of the pandemic—and to learn to teach. Find out more here.


The Devil Strip

How Juan Contreras Made Akron Home

March 8, 2021

“Definitely not the weather.” 

After three weeks of looking at Akron blanketed in snow, that’s Juan Contreras’s first thought upon being asked why he chose this corner of Northeast Ohio as a place to live. Read more.

Donovan Harris | A pillar in the Akron Community

October 19, 2020

If you make your way to 1010 Hammel St. in South Akron, you will find a retail building with signs for Mrs. Dianne’s Shop & Save and Fresh Cuts Barber Shop. Inside the convenience store, you might find Donovan Harris behind the counter.

Donovan is the owner of the building, the store manager, and a pillar in the Akron community.

Read more here.

In new book, David Giffels travels Ohio to understand the U.S.

September 8, 2020

An annual festival in a city recovering from a mass shooting. A small locally-owned bookstore. A craft brewery set in an old funeral home. Abandoned malls all across the state. These are only some of the places that David Giffels visits in his new book Barnstorming Ohio to Understand America as he presents an insider’s look into Ohio communities. Read more.

‘I can be your Antidote at the end of a hard day:’ Madison Cummins releases sophomore album

August 26, 2020

Drawing inspiration from the people and experiences in her life, Madison Cummins showcases a knack for weaving relatable stories through songs. Antidote is her newest record and represents the culmination of more than six years of songwriting since she released her first album. 

Read more.

‘You get panic:’ Changing student visa orders confuse international students

August 5, 2020

While the world is grappling with the ongoing public health crisis, international students in the United States find themselves facing a struggle of their own. 

In early July, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency ordered that anyone on a student visa whose university was planning for online-only instruction in Fall 2020 would need to transfer schools or leave the country. This came as a shock to hundreds of thousands of students around the country, including the estimated 850 enrolled at the University of Akron and 1,409 enrolled at Kent State University.

Read more.


Allegheny College

Sun-Kissed: Solar Holler is Repowering Appalachia

Vol. 32 – No. 3 – Winter 2014

Dan Conant ’07 is helping to make West Virginia a cleaner, forward-looking place when it comes to renewable energy. The Allegheny alumnus recently established Solar Holler, an innovative solar-financing company that is bringing renewable energy to nonprofit organizations in the Mountain State.

Read more.

Galloping Toward Success

February 6, 2015

Phoenix Cooke ’15 recently competed in the Washington International Horse Show Adult Jumper Championship, and, with her usual determination and skill, rode her mount, Skys Burning Blue, to a second-place finish. For Phoenix, who has been riding for 16 years, it was another in a series of achievements in equestrian competition.

Read more.

Meet Alex Marrero ’18

October 16, 2014

A fascination with logic and a dream of becoming a cardiovascular surgeon is what brought Alexander Marrero ’18 to Allegheny College. Alexander, from Hawley, Pa., enrolled at Allegheny to pursue his interests in pre-medicine and philosophy.

Read more.


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