Attending Gordon with Four Senses

By Katie Thompson

It’s lunchtime on a busy afternoon in the Lane Student Center. Tables are filled with students eating and talking together. At one table two students eat their lunch and discuss the latest in computers and software.

Except this conversation is different.

Katherine Moss and Karl Belanger can’t see each other. Moss, ’13, a secondary education major from Billerica, MA and Karl Belanger, ’10, a business major and computer science minor from Dover, NH, are blind.

Moss, born with Retinopathy of Prematurity, can make out some light, colors, and shapes, while Belanger, born with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, has light perception but can’t see shapes, shadows, or colors.

Moss and Belanger chose to attend Gordon for many of the same reasons that any sighted student might have. Moss was interested in the Christian environment and the academic opportunities. Belanger chose Gordon because it was close to home and offered a good computer science program.

There was one common factor in both students’ decision to attend: the programs and services offered for the disabled. Moss and Belanger agree that Gordon has a great system.

“The Academic Support Center knows what they are talking about and are very willing to work with me on any issues that I may have,” Belanger said.

According to the Academic Support Center, .004% of students are visually impaired, the highest percentage in recent years. In order to accommodate to these needs, the faciltiy scans texts, finds students to read to the visually impaired, and gets books in audio format.

“Our goal is to make academics as accessible as possible for the visually impaired so that they have equivalent opportunities,” said Jennifer Jansen, the administrative and accommodations assistant in the Academic Support Center.

Terry Charek, associate dean of students, has worked with both students to accommodate their physical needs. Moss and Belanger live in Chase Hall, chosen because of its centralized location. Classroom access, food service, and grounds maintenance are crucial components of keeping the campus accessible for students with such disabilities.

“I am amazed at how well Katherine and Karl function and at their sense of independence on campus,” Charek said.

With the training that they receive at Gordon, both students have plans for the future. Moss wants to teach at a visually impaired high school where she can have the same positive impact on students that her teachers had on her. Belanger desires a career in the Information Technology field where he can use his background in business and computer science.

Aside from their studies, Moss and Belanger are involved with various hobbies. Moss loves to sing and has been a pianist for fourteen years.

“I feel like the piano is a part of me,” she said, “I can’t go without it.”

She is also a self professed “technology geek” who loves to chat with friends online, learn computer programming, and research new technology.

Belanger is musically inclined as well. He has played the alto saxophone since the 5^th grade and is currently a member of the Symphonic Band at Gordon. He is also a passionate sports fan who enjoys keeping up to date on the latest statistics and scores of his favorite teams.

His other hobby is spending time with his Seeing Eye dog, Quasar. Belanger has had him for four years and Quasar was an instrumental part in helping him to learn the layout of the campus when he first arrived.

“The problem with navigating Gordon is that there are so many paths going to the same place,” Belanger said. “With Quasar I don’t have to worry about it. I can tell him where I need to go and he takes me there.”

Moss and Belanger receive assistance from the Academic Support Center and from their canes or in Belanger’s case his dog, and because of this sometimes feel that students aren’t sure how to approach them.

“In certain areas we might need assistance, but beyond that there is no difference between us and everyone else,” Belanger said.

Moss wants the sighted population to understand that though she may be blind it does not mean that she is abnormal.

“It’s very hard for me to meet people,” Moss said, “No one should be afraid to approach me or get to know me.”

Moss and Belanger are both convinced that they are blind for a reason and harbor no feelings of resentment. Moss believes that she is blind, just like she is a musician and tech savvy, for a purpose. Belanger views his blindness as an opportunity to share his story and his faith with others.

“God gave this to me for a reason and I will do what I can with it,” he said.

From Watergate to your Backyard: the Elements do not Change

By Katie Thompson

Journalists are pounding away on typewriters, running throughout the office with cigarettes dangling from their mouth’s, and decked out in a sea of plaid shirts and bell bottom pants, a clear signal of a 70s style newsroom.

This is a scene from William Goldberg’s 1976 film, All the President’s Men, starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.

The film tells the true story of two Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward (Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Hoffman), who were responsible for first breaking the Watergate scandal to the nation.

The technique and style of journalism employed by these two men revealed that the elements of journalism, as described in Bill Kovach’s book, are just as applicable in the 1970s during one of the greatest scandals in history as they are today in the smallest of hometown newspapers. The elements do not change.

Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth. This fact was the driving force behind Woodward and Bernstein’s coverage of the Watergate scandal as it unfolded. They stayed with the story, despite being doubted, mocked and even put in physical danger, because they knew it was their responsibility to uncover the truth.

In the process of uncovering the truth comes the difficult and often time consuming job of verification. Sources must be confirmed as reliable and accuracy is essential. Woodward and Bernstein found it a tedious task to verify their sources, or even get sources to go on the record for that matter, but knew that if they were to break a story of this magnitude it had to be perfect.

Their editor, Ben Bradlee, stressed the discipline of verification to them. In the early stages of their investigation, Bradlee held the story from print several times citing that they needed to “get some harder information”. He knew that the reputation of The Washington Post rode on whether the sources named (or more often unnamed due to the nature of the story) could be verified and made it clear to his reporters what was needed in order for their report to print.

The full story did eventually print and the men involved in the Watergate scandal were exposed and indicted. This was only possible because of the diligent and responsible journalism conducted by Woodward and Bernstein. They never stopped in their pursuit of the truth, and in the end neither they nor the nation were denied of it.

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

By Katie Thompson

“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” The title of this famous Clint Eastwood film describes the different styles of journalism represented in Jo Kadlecek’s book, A Minute Before Friday.

The book follows the story of Jonna Lightfoot MacLaughlin, a religion reporter for a New York City newspaper, The Clarion, and the journalistic and moral issues that she encounters.

The main conflict arises when MacLaughlin is informed that an Ivy League school, Regal University, has been secretly withholding funds from Christian clubs and organizations that were donated specifically for that purpose.

It is in the coverage of this story that Bill Kovach’s The Elements of Journalism can be seen in good, bad and ugly forms.

The Ugly: The ugly journalism is practiced by Walter Wood, a man new to The Clarion who has a vision to take the paper in a new direction, one in which sales and profits are the top priority. Wood has missed that journalism’s first loyalty is to the citizens, not to profit. Wood manipulated some of MacLaughlin’s stories in such a way that he believed would sell more copies. He was also not willing to put MacLaughlin’s story about the scandal at Regal in print because he thought the public wouldn’t be interested. The work of a journalist is to present the facts and let the citizen’s interpret them, and Wood eliminated this crucial aspect of journalism by not printing the story.

The Bad: The bad journalism is seen in Skip Gravely, MacLaughlin’s long time friend and editor. In the past Gravely had always insisted that journalism’s first obligation is to the truth and its first loyalty is to the citizens. This was why MacLaughlin was shocked when he refused to allow her story about Regal to print. It seemed as though Wood’s economic motives had rubbed off on him and his status as a Regal alumni may also have provided a reason for not wanting to tarnish the University’s reputation. Skip failed as a journalist- he was not interested in the truth and denied the citizen’s the right to know it.

The Good: MacLaughlin and fellow reporter Hannah Hensley represented the good journalism in this story. MacLaughlin’s first obligation was to the truth and she stopped at nothing to get it. She knew that illegal activity was taking place, and felt it her responsibility to expose it. Aside from being loyal to the truth and the citizens, she also practiced the discipline of verification. She found reliable sources and documents to confirm and strengthen her case. Hannah believed in these basic elements of journalism as well and helped her with uncovering the scandal. When MacLaughlin was just about to give up, Hensley helped her by going directly to the sources and demanding information- a picture of journalism at its best. It was Hensley who ultimately brought the story to a Senator, who released the information at a press conference and exposed Regal’s wrong doing.

Wood and Gravely failed to be a “voice for the voiceless”, however MacLaughlin and Hensley never ceased in their search for the truth and eventually were able to provide that much needed voice.