Bush Upper School Students Attend The Harvard Crimson Journalism Summit

On Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12, Upper School students and writers of The Rambler newspaper, Gia G. ’27, Ben F. ’27, Clara T. ’26, Ayaan B. ’27, Alexander L. ’27, and Clement H. ’27, were invited to attend The Harvard Crimson Journalism Summit on the university’s historical campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

“Over the course of two days, we were able to see what it’s like to be a journalist in college and how college journalism relates to professional,” shared Clara, Editor-in-Chief of The Rambler. “We learned a lot of information that we can use to improve our writing in the newspaper.”

The Rambler publishes one student-written issue a month, centered on themes such as art, music, politics, and science, as well as satirical and media reviews. Upper School English Faculty Mia Manzulli serves as The Rambler’s faculty advisor; however, the paper is proudly run by Bush students, which means that writing, illustrating, editing, and formatting are handled by the talented student staff from Ninth through Twelfth Grade. There are currently over twenty-five Upper School students involved in the creation and production of The Rambler, and its participation continues to grow with each school year.
 

“We hand out the newspaper the day it’s printed, and it does get a lot of traction,” said Clara. “This year, we’ve received many positive reactions because we cover a lot of Bush-centric topics, debates, sports takes, and even have a plant information section that Alex writes, and the Science teachers love.”

While exploring one of the nation's most prestigious college campuses, the students experienced both hands-on and informative learning. Throughout the weekend, they were visited by several writers and editors who covered topics such as “Power, Policy, and The Press,” “Halftime Report: Covering College Sports,” and “News Board: Journalism Fundamentals and Ethics.” Students also participated in a “Breaking News” simulation, in which they were challenged to think quickly on their feet.

“At The Crimson, they have different boards for distinct stories,” said Ben, The Rambler’s Copy Editor-in-Chief. “They have boards for News, Sports, Art, Editorial, and Multimedia pieces. Editors from each board presented to us and shared their own advice on how best to make your voice shine through. We learned how to go through the journalistic process with integrity.”

During this enlightening weekend, students absorbed writing and media tips from some of the most influential voices in journalism, including Marshall Cohen of CNN, Sahil Kapur of NBC, Farah Stockman of The New York Times, Peter Howe of the Boston Globe, and more.
 

“They had panels of professional journalists who presented, and we were able to ask them questions,” said Ayaan. “It was a really cool opportunity to be able to talk to them and writers from The Harvard Crimson, and apply what we learned in different scenarios.”

Students gathered a wealth of knowledge from a wide range of sources, learning everything from what makes a ‘good’ story to writing without bias to the best time to publish. Each student journalist gained new insights into how best to improve their individual writing and propel The Rambler.
 

“When writing an article, you want the beginning to be one of the important parts so that new readers can get a quick understanding of what it’s about,” said Alex. “I’m going to apply this tip to my articles.”
 

The eventful weekend concluded with the Rambler’s project presentations, in which they practiced interviewing Harvard students and wrote independent articles to exercise their communication skills. After, they connected with writers from The Crimson, who offered their support and expertise.

“I enjoyed the professional panels the most because they really expanded on how you break into the field, and how to build up a career in journalism,” said Clement. “I asked the panelists, ‘What are some obstacles you faced before becoming a journalist?' and everyone took a separate path and had a different story to share, which was really inspiring.”