Spring 2022 Reporter Reel
While words are a wonderful way to express emotion, elicit empathy, and tell a story... sometimes they just don't do the trick.
Sometimes, it's better to show than to tell.
With a white father and a Native American mother, my photography work touches on everything from the MMIWG crisis and conflicting identities to faces in the moment and simple scenes I find attractive.
JOURNALISM 3340 - DIGITAL MEDIA
“Well I live in Pilot Point, but my grandson lives here in Denton and his mom works during the day so I try to help take care of him. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and, well, you’ve heard people from up there before, and I came to this realization as I grew up that I don’t sound like the people I grew up with, and I think it’s because I modeled my speech after the people I heard on the radio broadcasts. A much more neutral, generic accent. And that’s really, why, you know, I think subconsciously I was always interested in radio and television.
My first job was delivering newspapers, had a little printing press, even built my own TV camera back in the 60s, so it had tubes in it instead of transistors. Anyway, I was always interested in broadcasting and journalism, always been involved in technology, and before I graduated college, I started working full time at a news station. At one point, I was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway doing interviews before the race, and I had a 35 pound camera on my shoulder when it started to rain, so I tried to hop the interior wall to keep the camera safe, but I ended up landing on my knees and was out of commission for a while, so I started to produce instead of field reporting. Yah know, I was ok with a desk job since I had been in the field for so many years.
After Indianapolis, I moved on to Salt Lake which was a bigger market, and then moved to Dallas with Channel 4, and eventually got a call from Channel 8, which, how would you say, is a more prestigious station, where I produced and ran the newsroom computer network. Then, when the internet came along, I created WFAA.com in 1995; it was one of the first news station websites. I also did a weekly technology segment, and just worked at channel 8 until it was time to retire and they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
For the next year, the first year of retirement, I spent a lot of time with my grandson, but I eventually decided it was time to get back to work. I found this smaller station up in Dennison, KTEN, where I’m the digital content manager, that has allowed me to work from home since the pandemic began. We’ve got 2 and a half hours of news in the morning, an hour at midday, another hour in the early evening, and 30 minutes late night. When I got there I was pretty impressed to see how they were able to do that with a smaller staff. Lots of chances for burnout in smaller stations like that.
Anyway, this is what I always wanted to do, broadcast and news that is, even though people often told me as a kid that I should find something else. This is what I wanted to do, and so it’s what I did; you shouldn't let other people tell you that you can’t do something.”
— Walt Zwirko
On The Road
By: Austin Hedgcoth
From Australia and Asia to the Middle East and all across the lower 48, Jaime Garza has spent his whole life traveling the globe, meeting new people, and collecting valuable knowledge and perspective.
“There’s a lot of good in the world,” Garza said. “We just don’t always see it.”
Before he could even drive, Garza was vying for a gold medal in karate at the Junior Olympics, meeting and competing against athletes from dozens of countries. After high school, Garza enlisted in the US Navy, and from 2008 to 2014, he served on bases and in combat zones all across the world. Today, he works as a data scientist for Citigroup, a position that allows him to travel from coast to coast—and sightsee along the way.
“The journey for me, the drive, it’s real fun,” Garza said. “Getting to see things you don’t see here in Dallas and the Denton area, specifically.”
Now, with a wife and two young children, Garza wants to provide his family with the same opportunity to see the world.
“There’s a lot more than Texas and Denton,” Garza said. “I want them to have exposure to it all.”
Enter: COVID-19.
Lockdowns, travel restrictions, illnesses, and business closures don’t exactly make the lifelong quest of broadening one’s horizons any easier.
“It was really hard to travel,” Garza said. “Restrictions were everywhere.”
And yet, he found a way.
Over the past two years, Garza was able to take his family to New York, California, and Ohio, and with travel restrictions all but eradicated, he’s eying a trip across the border to visit our neighbors to the north.
However, the recent spike in gas prices and travel expenses have Garza reconsidering.
“That has kinda thrown a wrench in there,” he said. “We’ll just have to see.”
As for his own traveling resume, he isn’t satisfied yet; there is one place in particular Garza wants to go before he puts his passport away for good.
“Iceland,” he said. “I’ve always seen the pictures… it looks very neat, very natural, and I’d love to go see that in person.”
Echoes of Grief
"What are your thoughts about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade?"
“This will cause more harm than good in any instance anywhere. The first time a young girl makes a mistake in high school, a girl being raped by someone on the street (or worse, her father), and she can’t terminate the pregnancy? Coming from someone who was born in a country where abortion was not allowed: my mother was 13 and my father was 36… she was raped and was forced to carry a child to full term at the age of 13. She didn’t have a choice. A friend of mine, she’s now 25 weeks pregnant, and she can feel her baby having multiple seizures per day. Her and her doctor had planned a surgery BUT since Roe v. Wade was overturned, she can no longer do that. She now has to wait until her fetus dies in her stomach or dies when they’re being born. In what world or country should that be ok? This will not stop abortions, just safe ones."
-Jinna Windsor
“On one hand, the Supreme Court rules if things are constitutional, and since the constitution doesn’t specifically give the federal government the power to decide that stuff, it falls to the states. But, while they are just doing their jobs, I think that dragging up all this stuff is going to have a negative effect more than anything. To be clear, I don’t think abortion should be outlawed, but that grievance is now more in the hands of state officials than the court.”
-Emily Collier
Council of Deception
"Given comments made by Justice Clarence Thomas, what are your thoughts on the Supreme Court potentially reevaluating, and possibly overturning, several rulings that protect same-sex marriage and access to contraceptives?"
“I believe that Justice Thomas has already demonstrated the reality of how corruptible, unaccountable, yet overwhelmingly powerful the Supreme Court is when he voted against releasing documents related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. An insurrection that his wife was, and still is, deeply involved with. His actions and the actions of others on the court reveal that the super majority of conservative justices are willing to put their political agendas ahead of their constitutional oaths to uphold, protect, and expand the rights of the American people.”
-Michael Lunbery
“Gay marriage is an undeniable right. We as a society have recognized that being gay is not a disorder nor an abnormality, it is simply just another form of love. Banning gay marriage, in my eyes, is the same as banning straight marriage; regardless of what gender you are marrying, you should be allowed to share assets, financial responsibilities, and taxes, and spend your life with the person you love. Additionally, banning contraceptives after abortion is undeniably a way to force women into giving birth. They are leaving no options (besides abstinence, which the majority of the time is a religious belief) for women to not get pregnant. And, if this is coming from a religious standpoint, it is completely unconstitutional, as we are to keep religion and the government separate.”
-Lindsey Mellor
“I am very frustrated with this situation because this is just as much the fault of the left as it is the right. Democrats had over 50 years to codify Roe into law but chose not to in order to keep it as a main voting issue, and now that's gone, and people are at an even higher risk of losing fundamental rights. Queer people fought so hard for something that should’ve never been the government’s right to control. Losing contraceptives proves that this is not about preserving life, it’s about control. It always has been.”
-Joseph Cyrus
“I don’t think there is one legitimate reason to overturn the same sex marriage decision. A nation that prides itself on being ‘the land of the free’ but restricts something like same-sex marriage is contradictory. There is also no reason to block contraceptives. Rich people will get whatever contraceptives they want, so ‘banning’ contraceptives just makes sex a class privilege.”
-Calvin Chancellor
“It’s embarrassing that Justice Thomas thinks people don’t see exactly how his religion and personal morals are dictating all his decisions. He mentions the cases protecting gay marriage and access to contraceptives but conveniently leave out the cases that affect him, such as interracial marriage and protection from wiretapping/electronic surveillance, even though they are protected by the same privacy rights outline in the Griswold case. I’m furious, and terrified, and I’m disgusted by the embarrassment that is our country and the people who are deciding what bodily autonomy Americans are allowed. This country’s leadership has proved over and again that it truly doesn’t care about its citizens, and while that may seem like an extreme view, I’m tired of having to worry about whether or not I’ll be allowed to exist after the next court case or election.”
-Caitlin Hullett
Council of Deception
By: Austin Hedgcoth
On January 22, 1973, in the landmark case of Roe v. Wade, the United States Supreme Court struck down a Texas law banning abortion, effectively legalizing the procedure nationwide. Nearly five decades and 16 justices later, the Supreme Court abandoned precedent and overturned Roe, allowing 26 states to enact and enforce their anti-abortion laws—and many fear this is just the beginning.
“I think that this is one of the worst decisions I've seen in a long time,” Natalie Norman, a local resident, said, “and I think this is only the first step in everything getting worse.”
In the court’s majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito argues that abortion is not an issue of privacy, and since the word “abortion” never appears in the Constitution, access to the procedure is not a guaranteed right.
However, the word “privacy” is not in the document, either; it was cases like Roe that established a right to privacy in the gray areas of the first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendments.
Renouncing precedent and overturning Roe leaves the door open to overturn several other rulings that use the same logic—which is exactly what Justice Clarence Thomas wants to do.
In his concurring opinion, Thomas expresses a desire to reevaluate all past rulings that establish privacy as a constitutional right, including cases that protect access to contraceptives, same-sex marriage, and interracial marriage.
“Initially, I thought these statements were satire,” local resident Connor Rury said. “I was in honest disbelief that anyone would even consider regressing that far; disbelief and disgust are the only words applicable to how I feel.”
While Alito stated that the logic used in this ruling will only apply to abortion, many Americans aren’t convinced.
After all, each of the six justices who voted to overturn Roe reassured Congress of their respect for precedent during their confirmation hearings.
“It’s about control,” Illinois resident Joseph Cyrus said. “It always has been.”
Journey to Denton
How does one make the jump from theater to marketing? Follow along and find out as UNT senior Jade Garrett walks us through her journey from Frisco to the home of the Mean Green! #GMG #UNTMojo22
From the Dawn of Time
Dreams in Gold
On July 25, 2022, award-winning American rock band Greta Van Fleet performed live at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois, during one of the first stops on the final leg of the band’s sophomore tour.
After selling out venues in 14 countries over the last four months, the group embarks on a run of 50 shows in 5 months to bring the "Dreams in Gold" tour to a close—right here in North America.
Who Has "The Vax"?
Convenient Content
Band-Aids on Broken Bones
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By: Austin Hedgcoth
Currently, over 40 million Americans owe a collective $1.75 trillion on their federal or private student loans, the most of any group of borrowers, ever.
If something isn’t done to address the ever-declining state of this crisis, the years, decades, and generations to come will see the collective debt pass thresholds once believed to be outrageous exaggerations, worst-case-scenarios if you will.
Unfortunately for us, and for anyone planning to attend any sort of higher education in the future, President Biden’s plan to cancel ‘x’ amount of that $1.75 trillion may not be the answer we need.
Pandemics, Past Promises, and Proposed Plans
The early part of 2020 marked the beginning of the worst global pandemic in over 100 years—to date, 6.5 million people have died from COVID-19.
It also marked the first time the federal government paused student loan payments.
At the time, President Trump moved all student loans into a state of pandemic forbearance, meaning that borrowers were able to halt their student loan payments without fear of racking up mile-long tabs of unpaid interest. Trump’s interest pause was originally set to last for 60 days, and borrowers were told to expect payments to resume as normal in May of 2020.
In reality, to the delight of borrowers and the dismay of collection agencies, Trump would go on to extend the pause once, and Biden has done so an additional four times, saving borrowers, and costing the government, an estimated $195 billion dollars in avoided interest.
As of this month, 37 million borrowers have not made a payment on their student loans in over two years.
The point of concern? Biden’s most recent extension is set to end on August 31.
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The main three options currently on the table for the Biden administration are as follows:
1) extend the pause for a seventh time, likely through the end of the year;
2) let the pause expire and forgive some amount of student debt per borrower; or
3) let the pause expire and do nothing.
While some are worried that Biden is waiting too long to make a decision, others are finding hope in the delay, speculating that this month will finally be the month where Biden delivers on his campaign promise to cancel $10,000 of debt per person.
At the same time, more progressive Democratic lawmakers, along with organizations like the NAACP, continue to call Biden to consider canceling $50,000 per person, although he has publicly shot down those proposals on more than one occasion.
To complicate matters more, Politico recently obtained reports that confirm the Education Department has in-depth plans to implement widespread loan forgiveness should Biden make the call—so what is he waiting on, if anything at all?
Some experts predict he will extend the pause and sit tight through the November midterms, holding student loan forgiveness over the heads of voters at the polls, but others feel he is primed to forgive the debt now in an attempt to revive his tanking approval ratings with young Americans.
Biden’s Benefits: Where Have They Gone?
While we may not know exactly what Biden will do, we can take a look at what he has already done, analyze this pattern of policy and behavior, and try to anticipate the most likely scenario.
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During his first two years in office, Biden expanded access to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, the Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) program, and the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) program; provided $8 billion in debt relief to those who were defrauded by various for-profit colleges; and discharged nearly $6 billion in debt for those who are totally and permanently disabled.
So, it’s clear to see that Biden is committed to tackling the student debt crisis and providing loan forgiveness—but only in specific circumstances, and even then, not without exceptions.
Considering this, it is probable that Biden will provide some form of widespread debt relief, i.e. $10,000 forgiveness per person; but it is equally probable that the relief will come with a fair amount of fine print.
As of right now, the biggest potential astresick accompanying the phrase “widespread relief” would be the income cap.
Word around the White House suggests that anyone who makes over $125,000-150,000 and files their taxes individually, and any couples who make over $250,000-300,000 and file jointly, would not have any of their student loans forgiven.
Income caps such as these are being considered as a way to appease the debt-relief critics who feel that blanket forgiveness would have taxpayers sending their hard earned money to needlessly cover the debt of the already well-off.
In addition to the income caps, under Biden’s proposal, all of the 6 million borrowers who owe on private, non-government student loans would be hung out to dry, regardless of salary.
A Decades-Old Facade, And How To Move Beyond It
Exceptions or no exceptions, these plans are flawed; they don’t address the central problem, and they do nothing to prevent the debt from piling right back up again in two years or twenty.
That’s a serious issue.
In the last 40 years, the price of college (for one year’s worth of tuition) has increased nearly 180%, the purchasing power of the dollar has decreased about 70%, but the median wage earned has increased only 15% for those with a college degree and decreased nearly 10% for those without a post-secondary degree.
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U.S. workers also have not seen an increase in the minimum wage in over a decade—the longest increase drought in this country’s history.
However, in January of 2021, Democratic lawmakers introduced the Raise the Wage Act (RWA), a bill that would secure higher wages for nearly 32 million Americans by gradually increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour over a period of four to five years.
While the bill faces serious partisan opposition and fails to address ever-spiking inflation, it would, like Biden’s plan to cancel student debt, provide breathing room to many of the individuals and families who need it the most.
Additionally, the federal government has the power to incentivize state and local governments to provide more grant and scholarship money to students enrolled in technical schools or public universities, or to do so themselves. At the state level, programs like the Montana Promise Act and the A+ scholarship in Missouri provide good examples of affordable, state-government-supported routes to higher education; both programs allow most graduating seniors to attend in-state community colleges free of charge for up to two years.
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However, possibly the most effective way for the federal government to tackle the student debt crisis, as contradictory as it sounds, is to restrict access to federal student loans and decrease the overall amount of federal funds available to borrowers, thereby forcing (not just incentivizing) the states to invest in education once again.
Since the 1980s, the federal government has routinely increased the amount of funds available for student loan borrowers, with the original goal being to provide more people with the opportunity to pursue a higher education. However, as more federal dollars were made available to borrowers, state governments saw an opportunity to back off and save a few bucks, and as a result, state funding for higher education today is less than half of what it was 40 years ago.
At the same time that funding was unintentionally shifting hands, universities increased their cost of attendance to boost their profits, assuming that, with the extra federal funds, new students wouldn’t mind.
On top of all of that, the federal government also began to notice that the more money it handed out, and the more that borrowers relied on federal lending programs, the more money could be brought in by charging outrageous interest rates on the loans meant to help people secure a ticket to a better future.
Forty years later, tuition continues to climb, more borrowers are deeper in debt than ever before, and still, nobody has successfully attempted to fix this system that benefits everyone except for the people it is supposed to.
One Step At A Time
Truth be told, there’s a million and one reasons to feel disheartened, enraged, and maybe even betrayed, but with every step in the right direction, no matter how small, the movement for more affordable and accessible education grows.
The work the current administration is doing to forgive a significant portion of outstanding student loan debt is the biggest step in some time; however, in order to secure a genuine, long-term solution to the student debt crisis and the ever-increasing costs of higher education, we must provide criticisms through our appreciation, for progress falters in moments of complacency.
Analyze. Acknowledge. Advocate for better.
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