The feature writing class wrote about a pivotal moment in American history. Noah Darnell, instructor of communication, began teaching a feature writing class in fall 2019 for the first time since spring 2016. Darnell said the class was mostly run by the nine students enrolled. President Bruce McLarty tasked the class with finding two of his former classmates from elementary school, who participated in phase two of Arkansas desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas. McLarty gave Darnell's students a class photo from when his classmates integrated, the name of the school they attended, and the date that the photos were taken to begin their investigation. Junior journalism major Daniela Cuellar said working on a long story was more difficult but also more rewarding because they were able to witness the results of their hard work over time. The students were required to contact people involved with the stories and make connections with them for a more hands-on approach in the class. After three weeks of searching through Arkansas archives, students found and contacted one of McLarty's former classmates who was still living in Little Rock. Senior journalism major Gael Langdon was one of Darnell's students who tracked down the classmates' family in Little Rock. After deciding to use McLarty's classmates' story of integration to illustrate educational segregation in Little Rock, Langdon and other students from the class later attended a protest against new rules mandated by the Arkansas Board of Education in the Little Rock School District. Langdon said she gained experience working in print news alongside professionals. "We're doing things that the real guys do," Langdon said. "I was standing next to people who work for the Democrat-Gazette." Darnell said it was interesting to see the correlation between a teacher strike in 2019 and Ruby Bridges integrating into a public school for the first time in 1963 when she was 6 years old. "The most important part ofjournalism is that I think the students see how interconnected everything is," Darnell said. A former professional journalist and AP editor in central Arkansas and Nashville, Tennessee, proofread and provided commentary on the final story. Darnell said he put this in place to ensure the students received as much applied, professional experience as possible. story by Jeriah Brumfield & Caleb Manor academics 89
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