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Portfolio Project Quarter III I'm covering the City and Region section in the Boston Globe.

Bridging the Gap: Crews Shoring up Longfellow until its restoratioin She's a Rebel With a Cause With decision to donate kidney, man gives gift of two lifetimes Biodiesel fuels show variation in strength Decline is seen in use of free care: State health law having an effect Ombudsmn sought for youths in custody: Advocate cite DYS abuse cases Snowmobile accidents raise worry in Maine Old North installs energy-efficient lights Friends call fatal fall at MIT an accident
 * The Stories on Monday March 3 were:**

"Friends call fatal fall at MIT an accident" is about a student who fell five stories out of a fraternity house window in his bedroom on a Saturday morning. The police so far have no conclusive evidence about what caused the fall but they do not suspect any foul play. His death shocked everyone in the college community and none of his friends can understand what happened. We could report about this death through what we hear in the news. We could also report about problems that happen around Wellesley because there are so many colleges nearby. We could do a brief story about how many similar things have happened at nearby schools.

"Old North installs energy-efficient lights" is about the new LED (light emitting diodes) light-bulbs that Old North Church has installed. They have not changed the look of the church but increased the efficiency of their energy system. They also last at least 25 times as long as incandescent bulbs and give off less heat than the other kind which was peeling the paint on the church ceiling. We could easily cover similar issues as this story. We may have already covered this before but we could write about the energy efficiency of the high school. We could also do an informative article about ways in which we could reduce our energy efficiency. We could definitely refer to the Green Team and Recycling Club because they have been trying to educate the students about this already.

Pair disguised as police robbing houses 2 doctors found negligent in death Ban on gifts to doctors sought Prosecutor describes prior attack by Malden man on slaying victim Arts center announces director's abrupt exit Newborn in a hurry meets Hub officers Columnist Walker arraigned in OUI 18 schools selected for wellness program Man sentenced in modeling agency fraud Mothers scuffle at Chuck E. Cheese Bomb threat causes evacuation at URI Smoke shop trial delayed due to illness Snow piles are heavy danger to N.H. roofs Man jailed after alleged threats Delta flights Would-be successors line up on rumors of senator's new job US asks voiding of $3.1m award in slaying of Quincy fisherman
 * The stories on Tuesday, March 4 were:**

"Newborn in a hurry meets Hub officers" is about a woman who couldn't make it to the hospital in time to deliver her baby. They called for help and two police officers responded and helped her deliver her baby in the front seat of her car with her other daughter in the back seat. While this is slightly disturbing there are some ways we could cover similar ideas in the Bradford. Since we have so many pregnant teachers we could do a little story about them and then a blurb along with it about the weirdest places people in our school have been born. It's slightly doubtful anyone has stories as interesting as this article and it would be hard to find these people, but it would be kind of fun to investigate.

In "Pair disguised as police robbing houses" two staff members reported about a local string of crimes in East Boston, Chelsea, and Everett. Two men knock on people's doors dressed as police officers and order the people to let them search the house. They have been targeting illegal immigrants because the criminals think they will be too afraid to report the robberies to the police. While we don't have any issues like this in Wellesley, we could try to report on any crime that has been happening in Wellesley. There was a string of car burglaries going on a couple weeks ago. We could also report on crimes in WHS, but we may have already done this.

Patrick challenges DiMasi over casino proposal Lawrence center for veterans may close Jury faults mortuary for losing remains Wind turbines propel Logan's energy efforts BC Law School will not bestow honor on Mukasey Civil rights suit against city goes to trial Track work starts Sunday on rail line Power line surge in Natick burns NStar worker Bill would protect right to nurse in public House considers child booster-seat bill Female student is accused in bomb scare Offender charged in child rape denied bail Town might drop fee for cannabis event Chicken, meat recalled over Listeria fear Voters oust constable known for ticketing Partial face transplants planned in Boston Ghost trackers trace 'presence' in town building Wash. soldier accused of killing N.H. native, husband Measure targets archaic blue laws Patrick backs bill to protect rights of transgendered US rejects N.H. bid to let ATVs use federal rail trails Harvard College leader is selected 23-year-old from Arlington wins House seat Police find rape suspect dead in bathtub
 * The stories on Wednesday, March 5 were:**

'Harvard College leader is selected' is about the new Dean appointment at Harvard. Evelynn Hammonds, currently on staff for faculty development, will take over next year as Harvard's new dean. She will be the first African-American and the first woman ever to hold the position. The faculty supports her promotion and she says she's excited to return to working closely with students. In the Bradford we could do a story about women in the community who have leadership positions as work. We could also just include a table about colleges who have women or African-American deans. It would be interesting to see how many colleges have been hiring minorities to their most important positions.

'Ghost trackers detect 'presence' in town building' is about a two-member team from the Paranormal Institute of New England who investigated the Middleborough Town Hall. Len Anderson and Ed Beaulieu were searching the 135-year old building when their equipment went haywire which usually apparently signifies the presence of a spirit. We could do an article about buildings in Wellesley that are supposedly haunted. I don't know if there are any "haunted" buildings around here but there might be a way to find out if people have reported about hauntings in Wellesley.

Taking away the homemade touch Casualty of war Wind activists target Markey A year after raid, immigration cases drag on for many YMCA housing for men in need is called deplorable UMass tuition to rise 3 percent next year Drugstore chain submits clinic proposal Patrick pushes to tighten corporate taxes High chlorine levels close water park Williams College gets $7m donation Fire raises concerns of potential arson Former woodworking factory collapses 16 parishes balk at abuse prevention classes Murder witness tells why he recanted Father storms school and attacks teen who fought son, police say DA droops Boston nightclub rape case Patrick sends lawmakers brochure lauding casino plan Former candidate asks judge to throw out guilty verdict T will dip into reserves for $20m
 * The stories on Thursday, March 6 were:**

'Casualty of war' is about two war veterans from South Boston who were best friends growing up and through their experience together in the navy in the 1950's. One friend was sent to Vietnam, however, and returned with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He also became opposed to war and he lost his old friendship. This story would be relevant because it connects to issues today with the war in Iraq. We could do an article about how the current war is affecting soldiers after they come home. We could try and find out if PTSD is common among veterans today.

'UMass tuition to rise 3 percent next year' is clearly about the rising tuition cost at UMass. The new plan will increase the average cost for undergraduates by $288 per year. A lot of this new revenue is going to help students with financial aid. This increase, however, is not nearly as great as a lot of other schools. We could do a story about how much college and all the things you need to do to get there costs. It's basically a monopoly by the CollegeBoard to get as much money as they can out of us.

The Stories on Friday, March 7 were:


 * [|Casino study backs Patrick] (By Matt Viser, Globe Staff)
 * [|Murray cuts political ties to lobbyist] (By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff)
 * [|Nobel laureate retracts a study] (By Patricia Wen, Globe Staff)
 * [|College loans see subprime fallout] (By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff)
 * [|Odgren hearing focuses on Asperger's] (By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff)
 * Adrian Walker [|A Southern transplant] (By Adrian Walker, Globe Columnist)
 * [|Mass. alters fishing regulations] (By David Abel, Globe Staff)
 * [|Arrest made in beating of woman, 87] (By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff)
 * New England in brief [|6-year-old dies of influenza, officials say] (Boston Globe)
 * [|Break-ins frustrate police in South Boston] (By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff)
 * [|Young rider gives MBTA board an earful] (By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff)
 * [|Lawyers attack credibility of Drumgold case witness] (By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff)
 * [|State board walkout halts mediation on firefighter contract] (By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff)
 * [|Salem driving instructor is charged with DUI] (By Steven Rosenberg, Globe Staff)

'A Southern Transplant' is a column about a young woman named Laura Linehan who needs a liver transplant. She had her first transplant when she was just two years old and now has been slowly deteriorating. The list of people waiting for transplants in Massachusetts is too long so Linehan moved to Florida with her mother where there are more organs available and less people on the waiting list. We could do a story about how many people in Massachusetts need transplants and don't get them every year. We could also try and find out if anyone in the high school has ever had to have a transplant.

'Odgren hearing focuses on Asperger's' is about the trial of John Odgren who fatally stabbed a freshman he didn't even know at school. The trial has come to focus on his disease and whether or not this would have prevented him from premeditating his crime. The prosecutors say they know enough about his disease without bringing it up in trial. We could do a story about the effects of Asperger's. We could do an editorial about whether or not we think the disease affected his though process. Since videogames have come up in the trial we could also do an editorial about violent video games.

The stories on Saturday, March 8 were:
 * [|Technicolor dreams soar in Plymouth] (By Jenna Russell, Globe Staff)
 * [|State girds for flooding as 2-stage storm hits] (By David Abel and Tania deLuzuriaga, Globe Staff)
 * [|Firefighter is arrested on drug charges] (By Maria Cramer and Donovan Slack, Globe Staff)
 * [|Mayor eyes new greenway over part of Storrow Drive] (By Donovan Slack and Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff)
 * [|Physician alleges gender bias against Beth Israel hospital] (By Liz Kowalczyk, Globe Staff)
 * [|Daylight savings has its fans and foes] (Boston Globe)
 * Spiritual Life [|Rabbi praises interfaith mobility] (By Rich Barlow, Boston Globe)
 * New England in brief [|Man, woman indicted in double slaying] (Boston Globe)
 * [|MIT announces need-based financial aid plan] (By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff)
 * [|Free rides] (Boston Globe)
 * [|Man dead, suspects arrested following stabbing at bus stop] (By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff)
 * [|Lesley campus expected to grow] (By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Correspondent)
 * [|Man with violent history testifies in rape trial] (By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff)
 * [|Union officials face flak over trip] (By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff)
 * [|Priest allegedly failed to account for funds] (Boston Globe)
 * [|Four Globe reporters garner first-place awards for stories]

'Daylight savings has its fans and foes' is an article that focuses on and older couple named Tom and Sue Carty and their opinions of daylight savings. We recently gained an hour of sunlight at night. Sue hates it because she can't wake up in the morning to teach when it's dark outside. Tom on the other hand likes the extra hour of light because he enjoys the evenings and works at home so he doesn't have to wake up early. We could do an opinions story about the pros and cons of daylight savings time. We could also refer to any scientific reasons or benefits of daylight savings time.

The story 'Four Globe reporters garner first-place awards for stories' pretty much speaks for itself. This story acknowledges the awards given to their colleagues from the Press Club of Atlantic City. A couple of sports writers along with an education section writer and a Globe Magazine writer were given awards. We could make sure to follow things like this within our own school. We could do short write-ups of any awards won by our peers or our teachers.

The stories on Monday, March 9 were: 'Calling a technology timeout' is an article about nearby towns who are starting to have technology-free nights sometimes. Needham recently implemented "Unplugged Nights" once a month.This means that they will have no homework once a month and they are supposed to spend a night without using the internet or watching TV. The idea is to create more family time instead. We could definitely do a story about this for the Bradford. We could try and get in touch with people in Needham to see what they thought of their unplugged night. We could also do an editorial about whether we think this would be appropriate for us in Wellesley.
 * [|Software contract called improper] (By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff)
 * [|Calling a technology timeout] (By Keith O'Brien, Globe Staff)
 * [|New DNA test can reveal a tumor's ID] (By Carey Goldberg, Globe Staff)
 * [|Jews tackle intermarriage debate] (By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff)
 * [|A city wants IDs for voters] (By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff)
 * [|Ex-inmates see a brighter destiny] (By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff)
 * [|Space crewman's feats a point of local pride] (By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff)
 * Kevin Cullen [|Credit where it isn't due] (By Kevin Cullen, Globe Columnist)
 * [|Dorchester woman found stabbed to death] (By John C. Drake and Noah Bierman, Globe Staff)
 * New England in brief [|4 stage robbery at Papa Gino's] (Boston Globe)
 * [|Mystic seeks to put drivers on bikes] (Boston Globe)
 * [|Police in N.H. still follow leads in 1974 escape of killer] (Boston Globe)
 * [|Conn. driver training faulted] (Boston Globe)
 * [|Storm spares most but still inflicts damage] (By Tania deLuzuriaga and Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff)

'Conn. driver training faulted' is about the state investigating a drivers ed program that seems to be helping people avoid the laws. They tell students when the best time of day to avoid a ticket is. They also tell students that if they get their license suspended they can't drive, but if they do they should be careful. Personally, I think their state government should come sit in on the Wellesley Driving School's classes. We could absolutely do an article about how ridiculous the driving classes here are. We could also compare Wellesley's school to other nearby driving schools that people go to.

CSPA Critique Portfolio Project

While I don’t feel that the Bradford is entirely unbalanced, it could also expand the topics it covers to create more balance in the publication. I feel like it’s very important to focus on stories that directly relate to our school, but the Bradford could also benefit from articles that go outside the boundaries of Wellesley High School. While it would be hard to find interview for stories not focused in Wellesley, articles covering national and international issues could increase the readership of our paper. These stories could be of interest to many students with international roots and also students who have moved here from other states.

I also think including little interest pieces throughout the paper would increase peoples’ interest and encourage them to read through the whole paper and not just the parts they are familiar with. We could do this by asking people to keep track of quirky stories they hear or abnormal events that are going on. Covering these types of things in a comical way in a short paragraph or news brief could generate enthusiasm towards the paper.

I definitely think we have fair and balanced coverage of the different sports teams. I think, in contrast, many other groups of students are left out of the paper. I think we should bring back artist of the month to correlate with athlete of the month. Maybe we should also cover clubs and non-athletic school teams like the debate, math, and green teams or academic decathalon. I don’t know how often they compete but including a news update about different school groups such as this would promote balance.

I think the small projects we have been doing weekly in class really should help to improve the craftsmanship of the writing in our articles. While I think many of our leads are good, they are often more than one sentence long and don’t always draw the reader into the article. This issue has already been brought up and will hopefully be better in the next issue, but the majority of our paragraphs are too long for news writing. I also think we really need to work on avoiding the passive voice. From experience of both writing and editing, I have found that many members of the staff use the passive voice in an excessive amount. We need to focus on using more active verbs. We could also definitely work on strengthening our headlines as well. While many of them are catchy and use play on words and witty saying, they don’t always serve the most important purpose of drawing the reader in.

In terms of graphics and captions, I think we could make much better use of pictures and graphics. I think as a paper we could really increase our use of charts and graphs to highlight statistics that correspond to our articles. I also think that we need to incorporate more candid photos. I think students should bring cameras to their interview so that if their interview subject is doing something interesting at the time, they could take care of their picture right away. If not this, we should remind the staff to ask their interview subject about a good time to take a picture later on. I think these are some really simple and subtle changes we could make easily to greatly improve the paper.

Book Letter #1 Dear Mrs. Brown, I am reading the book Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux. This is a travel account of his trip across Africa. Theroux used to live and work in Africa, and decided to return to re-explore the land. He planned a route that would take him throughout the entire continent from north to south: from Cairo, Egypt to Capetown, South Africa. He wanted to travel overland throughout his entire journey to see what had changed since he had last been there. I enjoy Paul Theroux’s style of writing; he writes with simple sentences and words that still leave a deep impact. His sentences are compelling, and it immediately becomes evident that he is a journalist. He often tries to draw the reader in at the beginning of a chapter, serving much the same purpose as the introduction to an article. The very first sentence of the novel intrigues the reader, as he writes, “All news out of Africa is bad. It made me want to go there, though not for the horror, the hot spots, the massacre-and-earthquake stories you read in the newspaper; I wanted the pleasure of being in Africa again. Feeling that the place was so large it contained many untold tales and some hope and comedy and sweetness, too- feeling that there was more to Africa than misery and terror” (1). Theroux uses this line to intrigue the reader and also state his purpose for writing this book. Reading this made me like him even more. I respect him for stating such a straightforward, but also difficult goal. I realized that what he says is true, the media never reports on uplifting aspects of African life. My narrow, and probably stereotypical, view of Africa is that it is a land plagued by constant warfare, full of poor and starving families. From the first page of the book, I was eager to find out new details of Africa. I found myself hoping that Theroux would change my view of Africa. Theroux also displays a detailed knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of Africa, leading me to more fully appreciate the complex culture of this unknown continent. He explains the differences between each African country, and also the towns and cities within the country. He perceptively notes the cultural differences across and within borders. Theroux describes the banter of his guide, writing, “Being Egyptian, Ihab mocked Sudan with affectionate gusto, in the same spirit that he jeered at Egypt” (54). Theroux pays enough attention to his surrounding to record the complaints of the people. He notes the criticisms Egyptians make of Sudanese, and includes them in his book. This information seems to be the type you can’t find anywhere else. He doesn’t disregard the opinions of the native people he meets. Most reports I hear about Africa automatically discuss Africans as a lesser people. Although Theroux occasionally uses a superior voice in his writing, he judges the Africans as if on an equal level with. The thing I admire most about this novel is his dedication to its accuracy. Theroux traveled for an extensive period of time throughout an almost countless number of countries. The amount of information he compiled must have been overwhelming at the end of his trip. There must have also been days when he just felt like being a regular tourist. He seems to, almost without fail, however, have always had his notebook at his side. The number of exact quotes he uses in his writing amazes me. He includes whole conversations and random sentences he overheard. The dedication is must have taken to record every significant and even insignificant conversation he had overwhelms me. I find it challenging to even conduct and take notes on one interview. I can’t even imagine recording the majority of conversations I have over the course of a year, and having most of them happen in a different language. I’m really enjoying this book so far and Theroux has only traveled through the very first few of his countries. I look forward to finding out how the rest of his trip goes. Sincerely, Sarah O’Brien

Book Letter #2 Dear Ms. Brown, Currently in the book Dark Star Safari, Paul Theroux is continuing his overland journey through Africa. He encounters many unusual situations along the journey. He has found that most Africans will not even travel over roads through their own continent. In fact, most of them do not even travel to neighboring countries, as they have their own prejudices. Americans view Africa as one big country, or at least that seems to be my stereotype, but Theroux portrays the differences between the regions of Africa. Theroux discovers many things throughout his journey, and gains interesting insights about the numerous aid organizations that have flocked to Africa. The world views these charitable foundations as excellent groups of selfless people. I feel like we hold volunteers on a pedestal. Theroux often encounters aid workers on his trip, however, and quickly discovers that they are not the god-like figures we see them as. Theroux often finds charities in the nicer parts of Africa and says, “Maybe such places attracted missionaries and aid workers because they were so pleasant to lie in…Whenever I saw a town that looked tidy and habitable I saw the evidence of foreign charities: Oxfam, Project Hope, the Hunger Project, Food for Africa, SOS Children’s Village, Caritas, and many others, with saintly names and a new white Land Rover of Land Cruiser parked in front” (192). Theroux uses his observations to make an interesting social commentary. He chooses to criticize these organizations that most people refuse to find fault with. He meets two young volunteers who feel no passion about what they do, and complain about the conditions. He cannot believe how rude their complaints are, as they seem to not even notice that the people they are helping have to live with these conditions every day. He points out the hypocrisy in these charities because they go to help people in third world countries but bring their nice cars and stay in expensive hotel rooms and return home to the technologically advanced America when they have had enough. Obviously not all volunteers are this superficial, but the number of workers he does find that don’t have a true passion for their work amazed me. Although I really enjoy Theroux’s style of writing, I found that he gets a bit cocky at some points in his writing. Theroux does an amazing job of accurately describing what he sees in Africa, but at some points he does seem to adopt a “greater than thou” attitude. Along his journey he says, “I mentioned to a white Kenyan that I had traveled south by road from the Ethiopian border t Marsabit and Isiolo. He was a though man who had traveled throughout Kenya. He had one of the most powerful Land Rovers I had ever seen- the newest model, with a BMW engine. He had never taken that road” (190). While Theroux has a right to be proud of his journey, he often glorifies the risk he takes. He constantly talks of the great danger he is in. Although the situation truly is dangerous, he likes to point out the fear of other Africans to make his own courage seem proportionally greater. This became annoying to me as I continued to read. My annoyance was overshadowed, though by my entertainment. So far I am still thoroughly enjoying the novel. Sincerely, Sarah O’Brien

Book Letter #3

Dear Ms. Brown, I have know finished the book Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux and he has completed his trek across Africa. I really enjoyed the book and his journey. I think it’s really interesting that Theroux has made a living out of traveling to exotic places and just telling what he sees. He obviously writes his observations in a very insightful fashion, but I find the job really interesting. He clearly devotes himself to his work, as he never questions the purpose for his journey despite the great risk to himself. He also dedicates himself to his reporting by recording almost all the conversations he has while on his trip. Reading the account of his job makes me curious about possibly pursuing such a career myself. As fascinating as it is, however, it’s really hard for me to picture myself traveling across an unknown land alone. Still, I really enjoyed learning about a new type of journalism that we obviously can’t really explore in class. One point that Theroux continues to make in the last third of the book is the optimism of the African people. He points out the great challenges they face, but also shows how they don’t seem to notice their hardships. He writes in the opening of a chapter, “Your mother is your mother, even if one of her legs is too short,’ Malawians say, another old saw, and this was also their offhand way of forgiving their country its lapses. Most people didn’t complain” (304). While its probably true that many Africans don’t really know how low their quality of life is compared to ours, they are not oblivious. They know that there are many problems, socially and politically in their countries. Theroux finds an amazing spirit in the Africans he meets, however, and an overpowering optimism. The native people accept the troubles and hardships they face. While it may be better for them to fight against their problems, it is better for them to deal with their society’s shortcomings than spend their time complaining. I felt like Theroux did a really nice job capturing the spirits of the people he meets. He gives every character in his story a really strong personality and always writes with eloquent description. This optimism the people feel can be seen in direct contrast with the incredible amount of danger they face in their daily lives. He describes the stories in a newspaper he picks up along the way, saying, “The inside pages- much more worrying for their being inside- were all crime stories. In the worst one, four tied-up and blindfolded people, two men and two women, were found ‘shot execution-style’ in a van outside Johannesburg. No clues, no identities, no leads” (377). Stories like this seem to be the common news for Africans. Obviously, living in Wellesley it is difficult for me to imagine living in constant fear. To me it seems like I wouldn’t be able to function in such a situation, but these people not only deal with it, they manage to almost ignore it and not let it affect or dominate their lives. Theroux helps me admire the perseverance these people must have in order to lead their own lives without being overcome by fear. It clearly plays a part in their lives, as they are always aware of the danger, but Theroux shows that their fear does not control them. I really enjoyed this project, and reading the book. It was not a book I probably would have picked up without having to do this assignment and I was pleasantly surprise by what I found. Sincerely, Sarah O’Brien