The journalism elective class officially counts as an arts, business, or technology class. Over the last few years, the Principal, Lisa Nemeth bounced back and forth between whether or not students will receive credits for taking this class.

Several students, such as Sophomore Anna Belculfine, came into high school expecting to take journalism throughout their high school years and fulfill the necessary arts, business, and technology credits in the process. Belculfine felt devastated at the start of the course-selection process  when her guidance counselor informed her that journalism would no longer count.

Belculfine brought this news to journalism teacher Charlie Cangemi, who decided to take action. Cangemi went to Nemeth to show her how the class meets Massachusetts state technology standards.

All journalism students use Chromebooks daily to access Google Drive and WordPress. Additionally, they also practice photography, photoshop, desktop publishing, videography, and web design Therefore, Nemeth agreed to count journalism as a technology class.

“I think this change was deserved and I’m glad we won’t lose students to fulfill their requirements,” says Cangemi.

If Nemeth resisted the change, then Cangemi would have needed to wait and see how many students remained in the class in hope the class would not be cancelled.

Belculfine feels relieved because she no longer needs to worry about finding another elective she enjoys that will fulfill the requirements. Instead, she can continue to write for the Ludlow Cub, which she thoroughly enjoys.

“I love how we all work as a team of writers and editors who can work independently but also depend on each other,” says Belculfine.

Cangemi’s only concern about this change is that students will join the class simply to fulfill their requirements rather than joining with a passion for writing. This may cause unwanted disruptions, preventing hard-working students from focusing on their work.

Behind the Scenes of The Cub

The Cub is composed of articles written by students of Ludlow High in the journalism class. We update our website with the latest news in LHS. Some writers focus on keeping sports updates to inform readers about the statistics of our sports teams or the occurrences in our athlete’s lives. The Cub includes interesting stories of several students throughout the school, whether they show specific talents or have life-changing experiences to share. Our writers share their opinions or arguments about topics regarding politics, school rules, and much more. We also review popular restaurants, movies, and music, making us a dependable source for information regarding these topics.

Journalism students have a lot of freedom regarding what they want to write, and it is up to them to complete any significant article. The work in The Cub is created through teamwork. All of our writers contribute their ideas and knowledge about what is going on around us during our brainstorming sessions.

Each student is required to write two articles after each brainstorming session. Then, the handful of editors review the work and make necessary corrections in order to make work publishable quality so our readers receive the best.

All articles must also be approved by our teacher, Mr. Cangemi. We are working towards an organized and peaceful environment so students who are interested in journalism can practice writing.

In this class, students learn how to put themselves out there to gather information through interviews. Students also develop writing skills geared towards journalism, such as tightening writing and sticking to the most important information. Time management is a tool students natural learn to use due to the freedom given in this class. Students must use their time wisely in order to complete their work by the deadline given.

Journalism is a fun class for students who wish to practice journalism techniques and share news in The Cub.