A class of Huntington High School journalism students participated in Hofstra University’s High School Press Day, listening to speaker panels and participating in educational workshops.
The students were accompanied by Huntington English teacher Aimee Antorino and Chairman of Humanities, 7-12 Joseph Leavy.
The journalism students learned more about the First Amendment and the protections it affords to the press. The Founders were steadfast in their belief that a free press was essential to a functioning and successful democracy and to keeping the power of government in check.
“Going to Hofstra was incredibly interesting,” Huntington senior Olivia Perez said. “We got to hear from multiple journalists and got to tour the school. It was a great experience.”
About 300 students in all turned out for the event, which was sponsored by Hofstra’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. Participants were able to explore journalism and media careers. Working professionals from metropolitan area print, broadcast and digital outlets were on hand.
“Hofstra’s Press Day was an exciting event us,” Ms. Antorino said. “The students were immersed in the world of journalism, starting with a panel discussion led by famous journalists, such as N.J. Burkett from Eyewitness News to college level workshops on today’s hot topics in the field. The students were given a tour of the Lawrence Herbert School of Communications and ate lunch in the university’s cafeteria. It was a great day.”
The Huntington students were able to get an in-depth look at fields such as investigative reporting, sports writing, photojournalism, public relations and online journalism.
“Having students from our journalism class experience the multiple journalism workshops and hear the keynote presentation by a Hofstra professor who spoke about fake news was highly engaging and motivating for our school’s budding journalists,” Mr. Leavy said.
