A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Image by  Angela Yuriko Smith  from  Pixabay   Students witness more than bookings Alex Diaz-Granados Copy Editor Miami Vice it isn't, but criminal justice majors can actually ride in a Metro-Dade patrol car and observe officers as they follow their daily routine. These students will fill out evaluation reports, evaluating what they've seen and turn them in to their professors. Then the reports will be discussed in class. Not only do these student evaluators gain a first-hand look at police work, but they also receive $7 an hour. "Most people get their ideas of what law enforcement officers' work is supposedly like from such television shows as Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice, " said criminal justice professor Ron Stearns. He said people see real police officers when the media get hold of something they did wrong or a heroic act. "An average police officer's day is filled with unexciting duties that the cops on Miami Vice wou...

The author during his days as a journalism student at Miami-Dade Community College, South Campus (now Miami-Dade College, Kendall Campus) Photo Credit: Prof. Peter C. Townsend (Author's collection)  This article was originally published in the March 9, 1989 issue of Catalyst , Miami-Dade Community College, South Campus' student newspaper. It was the author's only Page One - Lead article during his four academic years on staff.  'Satanic Verses' cause students to examine rights Alex Diaz Granados Staff Writer Although British author Salman Rushdie's controversial novel The Satanic Verses has been pulled from most major bookstores' shelves after Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini sentenced the Indian-born writer to death, most students and faculty here say that the book should be available to the public.  Rushdie's novel is the target of violent protests not only in Pakistan and other Islamic countries but also in the United States. As a ...

Is becoming a journalist as easy as it seems? No. Becoming a journalist (and remaining one) is  not  easy. Granted, it’s not as difficult or expensive as studying to be a lawyer or a doctor. But it’s not as easy as, say, sitting behind a computer keyboard and making up stuff - as Alex Jones seems to like to do - for blogs or websites along the lines of InfoWars. First, you have to take a lot of classes, first in middle school/high school, and then in college. Not only do you need to take the core curriculum classes that are required for your high school diploma, but you also need to sign up for specialized classes, such as Basic Reporting, Advanced Editing and Page Makeup, and (if you want to be a photojournalist) News Photography. Second, you need to have free time after school to work on the school newspaper, learn to meet deadlines, and develop a thick skin that will not only help you deal with the inevitable writer-editor dynamic but also with difficult assig...

Photo credit: Professor Peter C. Townsend, Miami Dade Community College Talent show spotlights gifted, unusual acts Catalyst, March 12, 1987 issue Alex Diaz-Granados Diversions Editor If you want to see some of the campus' "class" acts, then you don't want to miss the fifth annual talent show, today at 12:30 in Room 6120. According to Sonia Meistrell, program coordinator of arts, "There will be 12, maybe 13 acts which give us a variety of offerings. This year's show will be a combination of bands, solo singers, a magician and even a classical music act." And it's all students only. "In the past," Meistrell said, "a few faculty members would perform with a group of students, but this year the acts are being done exclusively by students." One of last year's students was Ira Sullivan, a member of Emerald City, which recently played campus. Meistrell said, "We have a few small details to take care of still...