Newspaper Reporting has taught me many new techniques and styles of writing and I will carry what I have learned into my career as a writer. This semester, our class was gifted with the chance to learn so much and grow as writers, and I definitely took advantage of the opportunity. I enjoyed all the meetings I covered and was proud of all the articles I wrote. 
     Police reporting was probably the most difficult story to write. The interviews with the police officers were a pain to set up because all of them were either busy or just did not want to reply. However, that taught me that sometimes you have to keep nagging and calling people possibly a hundred times before they cooperate. In the end, all the nagging is worth it, when you have an article in front of you that you have worked hard on and are proud of. While setting up interviews for police reporting was difficult, I also liked how open my choices were in story topics. I did not just have to write about someone getting arrested; I could take a simple police blog and spin a bigger and more important story from that. I never thought that police reporting would allow you to write a feature type article, but I ended up really enjoying the story I wrote from just a police blog.
     Covering meetings, like the school board meeting or the borough council meeting, was both stressful and exciting. I learned that you should always try to sit in the front, so you can hear the information better and see all that is happening. I also learned that you should always use a voice recorder whenever allowed. The recorder will help your quotes and information to be more accurate and you will also have something to back you up when you can not write fast enough or you suddenly get a hand cramp (which happened to me at both meetings this semester). I also learned that you should include different topics discussed at the meeting in your article, but you should mainly focus on one important item from the meeting; write the article focusing on the one topic and then include other topics in either bullet points or a sidebar. I enjoyed covering the two meetings because it was laid back, interesting, and there was even food involved (which I did not take because it goes against the SPJ conduct).
     While I enjoyed writing the articles for the borough council and school board meetings, I loved the whole court experience. Going into the day, I thought it was going to be boring and complete torture. However, the experience was the complete opposite. The court was laid back, which was unexpected, and the judge and district attorney were hilarious. I loved the whole experience and I would enjoy covering courts as a future journalist. At the court, I learned that you must ask questions. As a journalist you want to get all the names right, all the charges right, and you want all the information to be completely accurate. I learned to ask many questions and to also listen carefully, because you don't want to miss any information. Even if the judge or district attorney are not talking to a person on trial or an attorney, still listen, because you may get information and quotes that make your entire article better and you may even get quotes that show the personality of the people in charge. 
     After attending both the meetings and the court, I learned that reporting is not a walk in the park. It takes a lot of work and a lot of dedication. I learned that your sources will either be helpful or cause you to have a mental breakdown, by either not answering you or giving you barely any information. I also learned that journalism is an art that takes years of practice to master. Sometimes you will have an amazing article and sometimes your article will just suck. However, whether your article is the work of a genius or a complete disaster, you still put forth effort to write it and you should be proud of all you have accomplished and learned along the way. 
     After going through this class, I would advise future students to stay calm. All the work seems overwhelming, but in the end the experience is worth it, because you become a better writer and student. I would also tell them that this class is the perfect class to take to prepare you for a career in journalism. You learn how to write many different kinds of stories and you learn how to deal with sources and time management. I am glad that Cal U offered this course, because now I feel like I am ready to jump into the world of journalism and show the world how much I have grown as a writer. 

       Adam Greenleaf was back in court again on Nov. 4 on another
retail theft charge. Judge Joshua Kanalis and Assistant District Attorney Josh
Carroll of the Brownsville Magisterial District Court are done with giving
Greenleaf chances.
      “I will throw you in jail if I see you here again,” Kanalis said. 
       Greenleaf is not on probation but is facing fines after recently stealing
$5 of sleeping pills from the Dollar General in California, Pa., on Nov. 7. 
       Greenleaf must pay a $5 restitution fee and a fine of $165.50. Kanalis said Greenleaf is getting off easily.
      “I will give you a little fine this time since next time you will be incarcerated,” Kanalis said.
      Kanalis asked if Greenleaf had the $5 with him to pay the restitution fee. Greenleaf said he did not have any money on him but would pay back the money another day.
       “If his bail was set for $5 today, he wouldn’t be able to afford it,” Kanalis jokingly said to the crowd. 
        Kanalis said he has been dealing with Greenleaf ever since he was a policeman and even remembers arresting him 15 years ago for beating up his grandmother. 
        “It’s disgusting,” Kanalis said. “You’re a troublemaker who doesn’t want to be helped.”
         Kanalis said he is done giving Greenleaf chances.
         Carroll agreed with Kanalis.
         “We’re fed up with you,” Carroll said. “Stop stealing shit.”
         Greenleaf was ordered to pay the fine and restitution fee in whole in 30 days.
         “There will be no payments,” Kanalis said. “So pay the money or you will go to jail.”
          Greenleaf is also banned from shopping in California’s Dollar General. 
          Patrick Marinelli was also in court for stealing a ring from his family. 
          His family chose to drop the charges against their son, but Marinelli is still serving three to six years for counterfeiting money. 
          Carroll asked Marinelli how he would grade himself as a counterfeiter. 
          “I would give myself an A+,” Marinelli said. “I made everything.”
           Carroll called Marinelli a “sociopath.”
           “He has no empathy,” Carroll said. “He is a career criminal.”
            Parish Middlebrook was charged with the possession of marijuana after coming to California for a party. 
            Middlebrook is from Clairton and is on probation in Allegheny County for a criminal trespass case to which he pleaded guilty in September 2013. 
            Kanalis told Middlebrook he could either pay $449.50 that day or waive the case to the Court of Common Pleas in Washington. 
             Middlebrook could not come up with the money, so the case was waived up. 
             The fines and the court costs will be more. 
 
Other points covered in court:
* Five California University of Pennsylvania students including Jonathan Pierce, Zachary Morris, Jett Smith, Gunnar Smith, and Andrew Penzara, were charged with simple assault, after beating each other up at a party. The students would not
testify against each other so the assault charge was dropped. Penzara was also charged with possession of marijuana and was hoping for a plea bargain. The maximum fine that Penzara can receive for his plea, that he was an occupant of a
disorderly house in California Borough, is $600. 

*Tara Brown was charged with retail theft from CVS Pharmacy in Centerville. She has five prior offenses in retail theft. Her case was waived up to the Washington County Court of Common Pleas. 

*Monica Fullem of Fredericktown was in court for growing marijuana plants in her greenhouse to help with her arthritis. 
Her case was waived to the Court of Common Pleas in Washington. 
 
*Alicia McGraw was charged with forgery and theft, after writing checks that were not her own and cashing them at the Northwest Savings Bank in Fredericktown. She owes $1,776 and the bank will not accept payments. 
 
*Cory Humphreys and Cody Sowers, students from California University of Pennsylvania, were charged with possession of marijuana. The case was dismissed because Jeffrey Smaracheck, a police officer for the university, was not present. 
 
*Bronson Waite of Erie was charged with manufacturing and the intent to deliver drugs including marijuana and cocaine.

 Marlee Shaulis is a senior majoring in English with a journalism concentration at California University of Pennsylvania.


--30--

     As a journalism major, I have been told about a million times throughout my college education that the AP Stylebook is the "holy grail" or the Bible for journalists. Although it is a pain in my butt to look up little details in the stylebook, I do appreciate what it tries to do. It boosts my writing and makes me sound more educated and also makes my articles look neat and orderly. 
    However, the stylebook does cause me much confusion as a college student. I use the stylebook so much in my journalism classes, that when I am in a Literature class or even a Sign Language class, I use AP style. At first the professors are confused with the style of my paper, but after I tell them I am a journalism student, they understand. 
     I also believe that AP style is something that takes awhile to grasp and can be frustrating at first. My twin sister Brandi Shaulis, a secondary English education major, recently had to use AP style for her Research for Writers class. The process of revision took her forever because of all the AP style corrections she had to make. Good thing she has a twin sister who is a journalism major or else there might have been more hair pulled out from her frustration. After her paper was complete, she looked at me and said, "Wow, your major sucks." I just laughed at her and said, "We can't both be the talented and smart twin."
    Many people like my sister, believe that journalism is a simple major and does not require a lot of writing skill. However, journalism is an art and also takes a lot of time and precision to master. 

Professor Wilson read the Gettysburg Address in her Newspaper Reporting class on Nov. 20. She told the class that President Abraham Lincoln  gave this historic speech 150 years ago while standing on the Gettysburg battlefield where the Civil War was fought. All the students paid close attention as Wilson recited the speech. They were all listening closely, while tweeting excerpts from the speech.

Wilson stood in front of the classroom and carefully recited parts of the address. She was paying respect to the soldiers who have fought and will fight for our freedom. In the Gettyburg Address, Lincoln also thanked and honored the soldiers who fought in the Civil War. He said we should all respect the soldiers who gave their lives and devotion to protect our freedom and realize our nation would not be where it is today without the bravery of these strong men.

Wilson quoted Lincoln saying, "The world wil not remember what was said here, but it can never forget what they did here."

Lincoln was right.

The heros who fought for our freedom in Gettysburg have never been forgotten and it is through his great speech that we honor the memory of those soldiers.

The nation will continue to honor the soldiers who died on the Gettysburg battlefield. From Washington D.C. to a Newspaper Reporting class of 13 students, the memory of the Gettysburg battle, the dead soldiers, and Lincoln's speech will continue to be appreciated through the years

    On Nov. 4, I had my first experience in court as a journalist. My overall opinion of the Brownsville, Pa. Magisterial District Court was fun and laid back, thanks to the personalities and attitudes of District Judge Joshua Kanalis and Assistant District Attorney Josh Carroll. Both Kanalis and Carroll accepted us journalism students with open arms. They explained every case to us in detail and also gave us their strong opinions on matters including legalizing marijuana, which surprisingly they are all for. They knew when to be serious but also knew when to crack some jokes to keep the audience entertained and wanting more. My attention was kept the entire three hour period. I never expected court to be so laid back and humorous. I expected there to be a lot of yelling, back and forth talking between lawyers and the judge, and a lot of silence from the audience. However, Kanalis and Carroll made it a point to make the experience as enjoyable as possible for the crowd. 
    In the morning session, Kanalis and Carroll handled over 15 cases. There was always something going on and there was never a  dull moment. After I walked out of the small trailer that day, I was once again reassured that journalism was the perfect career for me. I could see myself going to court everyday and writing articles about the cases I witnessed. I never thought I would enjoy writing court stories, but after my experience with Kanalis and Carroll, I was convinced that I could spend the next forty years in court (as a journalist of course).