Lemke Project Celebrates Ninth Year

Students in the Lemke Project begin writing their stories.

Katherine Shurlds talks with students about photo projects

Jeff Smith talks with two writers about their stories.

Students heard from numerous speakers about immigration issues.

Jose Molina demonstrates a unique writing font.

Students spent five weeks reporting and writing news stories.

Students aim TV cameras during an on-air interview at the UATV studio.

Francisco Guerrero looks into the monitor of his TV camera.

Student add titles and edits to a televised interview.

Professor Janine Parry is interviewed for a story.

Iverlin Moreno shows off the 2010 class T-shirt

The 2010 staff of the Multicultural News.

Photo Submitted

High school students in the 2010 Lemke Project.

The ninth annual Lemke Journalism Project will be celebrated Thursday with the publication of this year’s Multicultural News, a newspaper written by 14 northwest Arkansas high school students.

Sponsors, students and their writing coaches, and guests will attend the awards ceremony as a part of Journalism Days at the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism, at 3 p.m. Thursday in Kimpel Hall, Room 111.

Anyone with an interest in the project is welcome to attend.

The project is sponsored by the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism, Fulbright College, University of Arkansas, and by Northwest Arkansas Media. The program is free to students.

For six consecutive Saturday mornings ending March 13, high school students met with leaders from the community and worked with journalism professors and professionals to write stories for the Multicultural News.

Members of the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and journalism majors coached the students in their story ideas and writing.

The journalism department wishes to thank Tom Stallbaumer of Northwest Arkansas Media for printing the Multicultural News and inserting it into La Prensa Libre.

Lunch sponsors were the University of Arkansas Admissions Office, the UA Office of Diversity, the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas, Reform Immigration for America, the UA Multicultural Center and Los Dos Rios of Rogers.

Thanks also to Al López, José Torres and Sandra Meyers of the Springdale Schools; Carlos Amargós, Rosa Arroyo and Brig Caldwell of Rogers Public Schools; and Geneice Yates and Peggy James of Fayetteville High School.

Two students – Aglae Malfavon of Har-Ber High School and Aileen Carrillo of Rogers High School – returned to the program for a third year.  

Returning for a second year were Tiffany Bounkhong of Har-Ber, and Valeri Gonzalez and Janira Rios, both of Rogers High School; and Elizabeth Flores and Sandy Moran, both of Rogers Heritage High School.

Participating for the first time from Fayetteville High School were Francisco Guerrero and Iverlin Moreno.

From Rogers High School, first-time participants were Brenda Garcia, Rocio Jimenez, Daniela Rivera and Justin Lloyd. Jose Molina of Rogers Heritage High School attended for the first time.

LJP thanks its speakers and coaches without whom the project would not be possible.

Speakers included Bret Schulte, UA journalism professor; Maribel Albarran, Legal Aid of Arkansas; Jocelyne Pruna, KUAF; Luis Restrepo, Office of Diversity; Larry Foley, UA journalism; Joe Bussell and Liz Mashie-Gunsaulis of the Street Law Program; John Broomfield, Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas.

Katherine Birkhead, Plaza Communitaria; Kameri Christy-McMullin, UA School of Social Work; Michelle Pribbernow, UA Admissions; Walter Hinojosa, Hispanic Democratic Caucus; Cynthia Nance, dean of UA School of Law.

Jose Gomez and Juan Mendez, Reform Immigration for America; Kathy Grisham, Community Clinic; Janine Parry, director of the Arkansas Poll; Sandy Hainline, Washington County Health Clinic ; and Daniel Diez, UA LULAC.

Special volunteers included Jeff Smith of Procter & Gamble, who oversaw the story content; Brooke McNeely, a freelance photographer, who served as primary photographer and photo coach to the students; and Delcie Kincaid, a UA journalism student who handled production for the Multicultural News.

Writing coaches included Evie Blad, Skip Descant, Sara Sullivan and Kevin Kinder, all of the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers; Charlie Alison of University Relations; Antoinette Grajeda of KUAF; and Jose Lopez, a UA journalism graduate student. From UATV were Jonathan Weaver, Rebecca Smithson, John Thomas, Justin Lewis, Will Henry, Clint Fullen, Adam Roberts and SaVannah Reading.

Ana Aguayo, a UA journalism major, was the project assistant.

Journalism faculty for the project were Gerald Jordan, Kim Martin and Katherine Shurlds, Lemke Journalism Project director.