SoniaAmodeo

Students on the WJMC trip have developed vivid imaginations, which they apply to current events.  Note: these are meant for entertainment.  EVENTS ARE NOT NECESSARILY FACTUAL.

One story: 

Sitting in a lecture about sniper victims getting shot in Washington D.C. makes me believe that Cocobama conspired all of this.  She planned to take over the city for her 2002 campaign but had a spelling exam that Friday.  

By using two black people as the killers, she planned to ruin the morale of the black community in order to render them vulnerable to her campaign propaganda.  But that is only one viewpoint…

In actuality, a political journalist who shall remain without a name was behind these events.

He got the images, he got the food.  His tradgedy was all over his face, like a hot dog’s condements on the buns.  Cocobama ruined her reputation, so she reunited with the reporter.  

NOBODY was trying to harm the abortion-supporting latina basher herself, Sonia Sotomayor. However, they wanted revenge on her failed 2002 campaign.

Why Sotomayer?, one may ask.  Was it merely a coincidence that a) she is not black, and b) Robert had “had it out” for a young participant in Cocobama’s WJMC experience? In actuality, Sotomayor’s body was to be the product of a dirty deal.  The fact is that the reporter is a notorious and expert assasin. The fact that never was uncovered is that the reporter was a rascist- an etremist who was not afraid to use a gun.  Cocobama knew this, and she also knew that the reporter was planning a huge shooting on the set of BET’s new show featuring Bill Cosby!  Ironically, the only reason she cared was because she wanted to kidnap him and that set would be the only time she could run into him, for he usually hermetted himself in secret.  She held a gun to his head as he held a gun to Cosby’s head, and he lowered his weapon first.  Thus, Cocobama once again exerted power.  She wanted Sotomayer dead…  

But Sotomayor was more ignorant than Christian Kinney, which Cocobama also hated. She expected them to be in the same building for her massive campaign shooting. Bill Cosby ended up getting shot through his sweater and went to heaven as an African American doctor on Heaven’s cable TV.

The ambiance, or in this case lack of ambiance, of the room in which students sat at the press club meeting aired a grim stench concerning the field of journalism.  

The interior designers perhaps attempted to strike a neutrality and deflect attention away from the drapes by leaving them dirty beige, pleated, and unsized, but instead they created two eye-catching corners of tackines, which surrounded a further cheesy felt backdrop to sit the journalists in front of while their feet dangled next to plastic fake planters!   Did it seem as if respect for the journalists was taken into account with the design of this room…definately not.  

The field of journalism is one constantly changing and evolving, and the building’s decoration should reflect this, such as in the same was as the building’s neighboring Newseum.  One feels as if in the interior a retro Navy boat, while one should feel as if they are in a modern architectural feat.  Windows should not be draped to block out the sun in the same way that journalists should not block out new mediums of their field while the print industry dies.  The sun’s light should shine through into these rooms, the backdrop should be demolished, and the fake plants should have never been inagurated to D.C.

Personal presentation does in fact affect the receival of a story.  

Weslie Pippert was wearing a baby blue polo tuked into simple brown belted khakis.  An outfit preppy yet casual.  He wore some jewelry: a ring, bracelet, and chain- they were not womanly accessories, rather they tie his outfit together in an unexplainable manner.  He just appeared comfortable and nonchalant. Observing from the second row, I could even smell his subtle cologne scent, which matched his age: gray hair and wrinkles.  Not slicked, no stage makeup, not a facade.  He was raw and real, relatable.  One was reminded of a wise grandfather, not a traditional businessman with a mug and a suit and an arrogance that prevents a student from approaching him with a question.

The way he spoke: much in the fashion of a story teller.  He seemed more of a raconteur than a lecturer.  He spoke slowly- not too slowly, but in a way that evokes the same feelings that sitting around a fireplace hearing cozy stories would evoke.  This is the difference between him and the fast-paced urban entrepeneur.  

He emphasized the statement, “Focus on the truth,” perhaps not realizing that he is the epitome of this statement.  There was a stark sense of sincerity and as he spoke to the audience’s emotions, the audience only wanted to speak back to him and hear more.  And more and more he told: becoming more and more personable with each anecdote.  He related of his family, his career in Jerusalem, and even his inner thoughts.  He guided a needed trip back to simplicity by using the narrative form and coercing the audience.  

Reactions: Students were not taking notes of the facts and statistics necessarily, but they rather sat there in a stuper of intrigue.  They listened the way  small child listens to a fable at bedtime.  

This scene is unique in the world of journalism; the room became an enclave of sentiment within the bustle of the constantly active D.C.  It becomes refreshing to feel at home again in this place where students often become lost amongst the busy population of serious businessmen and politicians.