The Slate

Explore my work at The Slate, the award-winning, student-run newspaper at Shippensburg University.

Several pieces of my work have been recognized by the Pennsylvania News Media Association.

Award-Winning Contributions

First Place Photo Story - 2022 Women's March Gallery

Second Place Photo Story - 2023 Winter Commencement

Second Place News Photo - SU announces change to 9/11 ceremony 

Honorable Mention Feature Photo - Review: Black Violin breaks musical boundaries

Featured Contributions

Here are some of my favorite things I have worked on at The Slate:

Pennsylvania governor’s vision for higher education

Editor's note: In the article, Gov. Shapiro gave figures for decreasing enrollment in community colleges and the PASSHE system. Shapiro misspoke during the interview; community college enrollment is down 37% and PASSHE schools are down 30%, not the other way around, according to Shapiro's office and the office of the PASSHE Chancellor.

Higher education is on track to receive a massive overhaul. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro introduced in January his vision for a new system of higher education

2024 Conservative Political Action Conference

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is the annual gathering of the modern movement within the Republican Party. While the conference was formed in 1974, in recent years it has transformed alongside its party to become a breeding ground for the MAGA movement. Donald Trump continues to hold a tight grip on the GOP and every guest in attendance this year is quite happy about it. From Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, all of them spoke in the echo chamber of th

Jantz cruises into new career as DCNR Deputy Secretary

A yellow bike sits outside Shearer Hall. Day by day, Claire Jantz commutes to Shippensburg University where she has worked in the Department of Geography and Earth Science since 2005. Her canary cruiser is how students and faculty alike know she is around campus.

However, after 19 years at SU, this bicycle may not be around as often as Jantz starts the next chapter of her life as the newest Deputy Secretary for Conservation and Technical Services at the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation a

Patterson one year after his inauguration

Editor’s Note: This interview with President Patterson occurred on Sept. 27, a little less than two weeks before the university experienced several infrastructure issues including the water main break outside Naugle Hall and reported gas leak in Dauphin Humanities Center.

Friday, Oct. 27, marked one year since Charles Patterson was inaugurated as Shippensburg University’s 18th president. His time at Shippensburg University started in August 2021 when he stepped in as interim president after Lau

“Let your voice be heard”: Carrie Sipes stands with CJM department

Students from the Communication, Journalism and Media (CJM) Department at Shippensburg University can be found all over: behind cameras at sporting events and graduation, in the press box, as interns for media companies and governmental agencies. Whether reporting on them or working them, CJM is within every part of our community. Through it all, Carrie Sipes is there to support every student in the department and beyond.

Sipes wears many hats throughout her day. She is not only the CJM Departm

What an engineer looks like: Sexism in the School of Engineering

On Dec. 5, 2022, the official Instagram account of Shippensburg University shared a photo featuring two male-presenting students in the newly named Milton and Doreen Morgan Engineering School with the caption “This is what an #engineer looks like.” The caption was then changed roughly 22 hours later to say, “Hands-on learning at the Milton and Doreen Engineering Lab!” with no comment or apology publicly made.

For a university that, according to its own website, “celebrates diversity” to make su

All Contributions

Here is everything I have ever contributed to The Slate, most recent items appearing first: 

Cumberland Valley School Board reverses decision to cancel anti-bullying assembly

MECHANICSBURG — The Cumberland Valley School Board voted 5-4 Wednesday night to reverse its decision to cancel a guest speaker assembly at Mountain View Middle School after a nearly six-hour special meeting.

The assembly was set to highlight actor and author Maulik Pancholy, best known for his work on series like “Phineas and Ferb” and “30 Rock.” Pancholy is also an openly gay author who has written several children’s books about anti-bullying. The assembly was scheduled for May 22 before a una

My mom's a loser: The language around cancer

I know cancer season is mid-June to mid-July, but I am not talking about zodiacs.

It is that time of year when organizations count laps or hours spent dancing in the name of fighting cancer. I mean, the Pennsylvania State University just raised a record-breaking $16,955,683.63 at its yearly THON which is a 46-hour dance for philanthropy.

You have probably heard of Relay for Life, a global movement that has raised billions of dollars for the American Cancer Society, “a leading cancer-fighting o

We’re still talking about vaginas...

The Slate has existed on the campus of Shippensburg University for nearly 70 years, and it has not always been pretty.

On Feb. 17, 2009, the assistant Arts & Entertainment editor published a scathing review of an SU production of Eve Hensler’s “The Vagina Monologues.” At the time, the monologues were a campus tradition performed each year around Valentine’s Day.

Almost exactly 15 years later, members of The Slate staff came across the article while cleaning out cabinets and thought it was appr

Pennsylvania governor’s vision for higher education

Editor's note: In the article, Gov. Shapiro gave figures for decreasing enrollment in community colleges and the PASSHE system. Shapiro misspoke during the interview; community college enrollment is down 37% and PASSHE schools are down 30%, not the other way around, according to Shapiro's office and the office of the PASSHE Chancellor.

Higher education is on track to receive a massive overhaul. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro introduced in January his vision for a new system of higher education

2024 Conservative Political Action Conference

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is the annual gathering of the modern movement within the Republican Party. While the conference was formed in 1974, in recent years it has transformed alongside its party to become a breeding ground for the MAGA movement. Donald Trump continues to hold a tight grip on the GOP and every guest in attendance this year is quite happy about it. From Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, all of them spoke in the echo chamber of th

2024 Conservative Political Action Conference

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is the annual gathering of the modern movement within the Republican Party. While the conference was formed in 1974, in recent years it has transformed alongside its party to become a breeding ground for the MAGA movement. Donald Trump continues to hold a tight grip on the GOP and every guest in attendance this year is quite happy about it. From Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, all of them spoke in the echo chamber of th

Addressing accessibility in response to Slate Speaks

If you were one of the individuals who could not attend this year’s MLK March for Humanity and felt upset with the university’s lack of prioritization, I want you to imagine for a moment if this is how you feel every day. Every day there are events you cannot attend or classes you are late to. Maybe you physically cannot go to things because they are being held in inaccessible areas like many events are. Perhaps you cannot go to things because you have more pressing things to address like doctor

Getting ship done: Students recognized by Governor Shapiro

Over 70 students representing colleges and universities across Pennsylvania visited the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg on Monday, Jan. 22, for Gov. Josh Shapiro’s inaugural College Day of Action. The event brought together student government presidents, student journalists, advocates and college influencers for a day of networking and learning.

“You were invited because you get s**t done on your campuses,” Gavin Lichtenstein, director of Digital Partnerships in the Office of the Governor an

Out with the old, in with the blue: state flag redesigns

Minnesota’s State Emblems Redesign Commission finalized a new flag design last month after months of work with over 2,600 design submissions online. This new design trades Minnesota’s state seal on a blue field for a simplistic design that resembles the state itself along with an eight-point North Star and a light blue block to the right.

The competition for a new flag design occurred after criticisms on the current design: a busy state seal depicting a pioneer with a rifle and a Native America

Jantz cruises into new career as DCNR Deputy Secretary

A yellow bike sits outside Shearer Hall. Day by day, Claire Jantz commutes to Shippensburg University where she has worked in the Department of Geography and Earth Science since 2005. Her canary cruiser is how students and faculty alike know she is around campus.

However, after 19 years at SU, this bicycle may not be around as often as Jantz starts the next chapter of her life as the newest Deputy Secretary for Conservation and Technical Services at the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation a

SUMB performs in Prague

The Shippensburg University Marching band arrived in Prague on Monday, Nov. 20 to represent SU in the Prague Christmas parade.

In addition to an opportunity to perform abroad, this trip offered the chance for SUMB members to take in the rich history of Prague’s Jewish Quarter, sightseeing the most significant preserved buildings from the Jewish ghetto, which now form the largest complex of Jewish historical monuments in the whole of Europe.

SUMB members were able to travel central Europe at it

Sociology/Anthropology Department hosts interactive inequality experience

“Do you hate poverty? We do, too!” was the subject line of an email inviting members of the university community to explore their own risks of poverty at an Interactive Inequality Experience presented by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Connors Institute last Tuesday.

Around 59 percent of Americans will experience at least one year under the official poverty line at some point during their lives according to Lawrence Eppard, professor of sociology at Shippensburg University.

Patterson one year after his inauguration

Editor’s Note: This interview with President Patterson occurred on Sept. 27, a little less than two weeks before the university experienced several infrastructure issues including the water main break outside Naugle Hall and reported gas leak in Dauphin Humanities Center.

Friday, Oct. 27, marked one year since Charles Patterson was inaugurated as Shippensburg University’s 18th president. His time at Shippensburg University started in August 2021 when he stepped in as interim president after Lau

Letter to the Managing Editor

In last week’s print edition of The Slate, you issued an open call to “especially busy Raiders out there who may have some advice on how to keep it all together.”

Much like you, I am always in a rush. I am in my senior year of college with a 15-credit upper-division class schedule. I am also highly involved with all four of the student media groups on campus. I love being multimedia director at The Slate and the weather anchor for Shippensburg Television (SUTV). I have two shows that air on WSY

Memorial and Remembrance

This year, cadets of Shippensburg University’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) maintained the flags on the quad while additionally setting up a table in the Ceddia Union Building (CUB) to recognize alumni who gave their lives in the global war on terror, which was instigated by the 9/11 attacks. One thing missing this year, however, was the annual Sept. 11 ceremony hosted outside the library. Photos featured are from this year’s campus flag display, Gettysburg National Military Park and

Going to counseling is OK

This week I went to counseling for the first time since 2021. Prior to that, I had been going on a pretty consistent basis since I was 9.

For as long as I can remember, I have always dealt with pretty intense anxiety. You know the kind — incessant stomachache, racing thoughts of doom, constant nervousness (for seemingly no reason). With the onset of my senior year of college, these feelings made their way back.

I made the difficult decision of going back to counseling after two years, and it w

SU announces change to 9/11 ceremony

Sidewalks in the academic quad were lined with hundreds of American flags last Monday in remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001, the deadliest terrorist attack in history.

Monday was the 22nd anniversary of Sept. 11, in which four coordinated airline hijackings and suicide terrorist attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda, a militant Islamist organization. Al-Qaeda’s goal was to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic state, and the attacks killed 2,977 people and injured 6,000 more across Ne
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