Students How 2

A newsletter for you, the college student who wants to

learn how to do everything better, easier or cheaper Spring 2023
studentshow2.wordpress.com

Both the content for this newsletter and the

design are created by students enrolled in COMM
3310 Copy Editing and Design in the School of
Communication at East Carolina University in
Greenville, North Carolina during the Spring
and Fall semesters under the direction of course
instructor Barbara Bullington.

We welcome suggestions for article ideas for

future issues.

Pet guinea pigs For inquiries, please email bullingtonb@ecu.edu

Keiko and Kiro.

Photo by Ayanna Ricks

How 2 be a small pet parent in college

By Kiarra Crayton
Having a dog or cat can be
challenging because of their size
and behavior but smaller pets like
guinea pigs, rabbits or hamsters
are easier to have in college
and can still provide emotional
support.
Imagine trying to find time in
your busy class schedule to run
home, take your dog out to use
the bathroom and scurry back to
campus. Dogs can also raise noise
complaints from random barking
in the middle of the night.
The other go-to pet is a cat,
which is much quieter than a dog
but their meows can be constant
and grow annoying. Cats also shed
easily, which can prompt increased
cleaning time.
The day-to-day routine
for a small pet
Ayanna Ricks, a sophomore
marketing major at East Carolina
University, said she provides her
two guinea pigs with fresh hay,
fruits, vegetables, fresh water and
attention daily. When Ricks was
living on campus, she took them
out to the grass area called the mall
located in the middle of the ECU
campus, often and she said that
was a way she made friends.
“For class, I would just turn
music on most times because
they don’t like being in complete
silence,” Ricks said. “I would
take my stuff outside with us
and I would take my iPad and
do classwork and stuff and they
(Keiko and Kiro) would lay around
in the grass.”
The benefits: from a
veterinarian
Dr. Linda Kuhn, a veterinarian at
East Carolina Veterinary Service
for 33 years, said she thinks small
pets like guinea pigs and rabbits
are better for college students than
1 Continued on p. 2
1
cats or dogs.
“A lot of college students get
depressed, away from home,”
Kuhn said. “These are good little
pets that can make you feel good.”
Kuhn said it’s best to do your
research about their diet. She said
when people bring small pets into
the practice, the typical reason is
nutritionally based. Learning the
normal activities and behaviors
of your pet is important, Kuhn
said because the illness can be
caught sooner. Another thing she
recommends is learning how to
trim their nails.
Affordability
Fruits and vegetables were
plentiful and free for Ricks at the
dining hall, where she got most
of her guinea pig’s food because
it was accessible to her. As the
costs of fresh fruits and vegetables
increase, this is an alternative way
Continued from p. 1
to cut the cost of
caring for a guinea pig.
“I would try and get the best-
looking fruits and vegetables,”
Ricks said. “They always had a
variety of food.”
Petco, a popular store to buy
animal products, gives customers
the option to buy a starter kit. The
kit includes a cage, bedding, a
water bowl, a food dish and a $10
rebate for any Kaytee Guinea Pig
food, according to Petco. Buying a
starter kit for your small pet would
save you money. All the essential
habitat items are in the kit, so you
do not need to go multiple stores.
Petco also offers a QR code that
takes customers and potential
small pet owners to a separate
website that has important
information from experts and also
provides tips and tricks. Some of
the topics talked about are habitat
size, care of your guinea pig and
where to buy them.
A college student’s
perspective
Ricks said she loved having her
pets on campus and registered
them as emotional support
animals. She said her guinea pigs
helped her be more productive
because they were a priority.
“When you have something that
you’re kind of taking care of, I feel
like it motivates you a little more,”
Ricks said. “It’s like, oh I need to
go to the dining hall to get some
lettuce, now that I’m at the dining
hall I am going to get something to
eat’.”
Those who vote usually receive a
sticker to show their participation.
How 2 vote as a college student
By Riley Callahan
In the current information age,
college students know more
than they ever have before. Yet
when it comes to national and
particularly local elections, young
people on college campuses are
often reluctant to learn about
candidates or vote, and these
factors take a toll on national
averages.
According to a report by the
Institute for Democracy and
Higher Education, only 66
percent of college students voted
in the 2020 presidential election.
If you have found yourself lost on
how to vote, the tips and words of
advice on how to vote as a college
student in the guide below should
put you on the right path.
Go register
Registering is the most important
step in voting, not just as a
student but as a citizen. College
students are put in a unique
situation in that they have the
choice of choosing where they
want to vote: either in the county
of their institution or permanent
residence. The most convenient
option is to register to vote in the
county of your school.
2
2 Continued on p. 3
Photo by Riley Callahan
“If you choose to register to
vote [at school], you are going
to be here during the election in
November,” says Alex Dennis,
Senior Assistant Director of the
Center for Leadership and Civic
Engagement and head of Pirates
Vote at East Carolina University.
“While you have that option to be
registered back home, which one
is going to lead you to voting?”
Find a location
After you are registered, you will
want to determine your voting
location. This information can
be found on your state’s election
board website. Most universities
in the United States have polling
locations on or close to campus.
Be ahead of the game
Plan ahead when choosing when
to vote. Early voting is a very
popular option and allows for
those who have complications
with their voter registration to
amend them before it is too late.
Voting on the day of may be tricky
if the polling stations are busy or
if they run out of ballots.
“If there’s a problem with
your registration they can fix it:
Continued from p. 2
if you’re not registered they can
do the same-day process to be
registered to vote on the same
day,” says Dennis. “If you wait
until Election Day to vote, you
have to go to that assigned precinct
location, and if there’s an issue a
provisional ballot is about your
only option.”
Bring some
identification.
Most states require some form of
it to vote, such as a driver’s license
vital, especially in recent years.
“This is your opportunity and your Featured Articles
from studentshow2.wordpress.com
voice to share your concerns and
passions,” says Dennis. “Advocate
for the issues that are important How 2 correctly care
for fish in college
to you, and that at the end of the
day, you’re not going to agree 100
percent with any of the candidates.
You’ve got to choose the ones that How 2 succeed as a
student journalist
line up mostly with the things that
you are most passionate about.”
How 2 make the most
Lastly, go vote! Make sure to of your spare time in
bring your ID and any other college

or passport. Check your state’s required documents, and head to

requirements in advance and make your polling place during early
sure you have the necessary ID voting or on Election Day. Voting How 2 create a PR
in college may seem difficult, but campaign
with you.
with the right knowledge, it can be
quite stress-free.
Educate yourself with the
candidates
Be informed. Most local candidates
have campaign information
readily available online, and many
local newspapers report on their
respective races. It’s one thing
to go and vote, but learning and
voting for what you want to see
in your community has much
more of an impact on not just the
ones around you, but even future
students.

“How does a democracy function

if you can’t find information
about candidates?” says Dr.
Cindy Elmore, co-founder of
Voter411ENC.org, a nonpartisan
public service providing local
candidate information to Pitt
and Beaufort counties in North
Carolina. “People either don’t vote
in local races, they vote on the
basis of political party, or they just
vote on the basis of something like
yard signs. We started this website
to provide some information.”

Make your voice heard

Often young people are reluctant to
vote because they think that their
vote doesn’t matter in the grand
scheme of things. But every ballot Information provided by wikiHow
(wikihow.com/Eat-Cheap-While-in-College)
cast in local and national races is
3
3

College student checking the quality of a news standup.
How 2 shoot a quality news stand-up
By Abigail Clavijo
An essential part of being an
on-air reporter is creating an
engaging stand-up for both
packages and live stories. A
stand-up is the first thing the
viewers will see before they are
exposed to the rest of the story,
which makes it similar to a lede
in print writing. Just like a lede,
your stand-up should be how you
will first connect to your viewers.
In the growing media market, it is
difficult to stand out in TV news.
So, how do you make a good first
impression with a stand-up?
Confidence is key
Standing in front of the camera
can be intimidating. However,
being confident in front of the
camera is the first and most vital
step in creating a quality stand-
up.
Senior communications major at
East Carolina University, Reyna
Crooms, said one way that helps
her stay confident is to go over the
main details of the story before
shooting the stand-up. This way
the information is fresh in her
mind.
Crooms also said that projecting
one’s voice is an important step in
appearing confident.
Photo by Abigail Clavijo
“I know most of the time you
have a microphone on you, but
speaking clearly and loudly
enough can improve the quality of
the sound more than you think.”
Crooms said in addition to
sounding confident it’s also
important to look confident. This
is something Crooms said she
learned while interning at a news
station. Checking the lighting
to make sure you don’t look
washed out or too dark, making
sure your hair is out of your face
and standing up tall are all now
on Crooms’ list of “do’s” when
preparing to record a stand-up.
What not to do
Viewers don’t necessarily want
to see reporters simply standing
in front of the camera holding a
microphone. Not only is it not
engaging, but it also makes it
difficult for those who are visual
learners to understand the topic.
East Carolina University
professor Dr. Mary Tucker-
McLaughlin said you should avoid
standing still if possible. Instead,
you should be walking toward the
camera.
“Stand-ups should use the
premise of ‘walking and talking’,”
Tucker-McLaughlin said.4 “All
4
parts of a news video should engage the
audience, the stand-up included.”
That being said, you don’t need to be
constantly moving. Sometimes, something
as simple as gesturing in the direction of
what you are reporting on will improve the
quality of a stand-up.
Get creative
One of the best stand-ups I recorded during
my time in Dr. Tucker-McLaughlin’s video
news class involved me simply walking
under the arches of ECU’s Joyner building to
demonstrate the music that plays when you
do so. It wasn’t much, but it was engaging
and helped me to better express the story I
was reporting, which was about the repairs
made to the plaza in between the Joyner
East building and Joyner Library.
According to NewsLab.org, another creative
way to make your stand-up stand out is to
shoot it in multiple takes to piece it together.
This method allows you to give information
to your viewers in a visual, step-by-step
sequence.
“One time I did a stand-up where I was
standing on one end of these clothing racks,
and I shot the first half on that end, then we
shot the second half of the stand-up on the
other end and cut the two clips together,”
Crooms said.
She said not only did it look cool, but it
allowed the shot to be more engaging to her
viewers.
Other general tips
Some other general tips to consider before
you go out and shoot your stand-up include:
● Make sure, if you are shooting by yourself
and do not have a cameraperson, that your
whole body is in the frame and that the
camera is in focus.
● Keep it short and to the point.
● Shooting more than one take is okay.
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