NATCHITOCHES – Four Northwestern State University students have been selected as student media leaders for 2020-21. Named were Allie Atkinson of Berwick, editor in chief of Argus, the university’s annual literary magazine, Haleigh Gates of Moss Bluff, editor of Potpourri, the university yearbook, Tifphany McClinton of Shreveport, general manager of KNWD, NSU’s student radio station, and Trinity Velazquez of New Orleans, editor in chief of The Current Sauce, NSU’s weekly student newspaper. The new leaders were selected by the Student Media Board.
Atkinson is a psychology major with a minor in child and family studies. Her main goal is to tweak and perfect the timeline that Argus operates on to better account for possible setbacks.
“A major change I am making this upcoming academic year is the addition of an assistant design editor who can help speed the process along, lighten the design editor’s workload, and serve as training for that person to take over as the design editor the following year if that person so wishes,” said Atkinson.
Gates, a senior biology major with a concentration in veterinary technology with minors both in history and liberal arts, was Potpourri’s contributing designer in the fall of 2018, assistant designer in the spring 2019 and fall 2019 semesters and design editor in the spring 2020 semester.
Her goals for the Potpourri are to become better engaged with the students of NSU and make the yearbook more inclusive of the student body.
“The way I want to make the Potpourri better is to connect more with the student body,” said Gates. “The yearbook is a representation of our community, and I would like to more accurately represent that. I plan to hold events and small contests over social media to help the students have more of a personal connection towards their yearbook. I want to work on bringing the Potpourri staff together in order for us to make a great book.”
McClinton is a senior English major with a concentration in film. She hopes to look into developing podcasts for the station and host the fall festival, Attack of the Bands, if possible.
McClinton plans to strengthen news and sports coverage and increase involvement with campus organizations. She also intends to participate in College Radio Day as a way to grow the station. She feels that one of the station’s strengths is its group of volunteer DJs, which includes J’Corey Williams who has been at the station for two semesters and worked as a board operator for two other radio stations.
“Every semester I only get more and more excited about our DJs, and this semester is no different. KNWD will now be leaving staff applications open throughout the year and have multiple training periods on specific days throughout the semester,” said McClinton. “Knowing how much potential KNWD has and how much the fall 2020 staff cares about the station, makes me feel positive that KNWD will soon reach that potential and better serve our campus.”
Velazquez, a senior communications major with a concentration in journalism, broadcast and digital media plans to expand the readership of the Current Sauce, make the paper more digital to make access easier for readers and become a more reliable news source for the NSU community and the Natchitoches community.
“My plans for the Current Sauce are all internally based because that is how I will make the newspaper better,” said Velazquez. “I want to work on the flow of stories from my reporters to my editorial board to me. I also want more students to write for the opinion section, and to do that my opinions editor and I will create a more open outlet for students to freely write what they want. I also want to have a great working relationship with my staff.”
