{"id":41468,"date":"2019-03-05T08:41:44","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T13:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=41468"},"modified":"2019-03-05T08:42:05","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T13:42:05","slug":"the-weather-vane-a-formative-experience-for-many-and-for-you-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/the-weather-vane-a-formative-experience-for-many-and-for-you-too\/","title":{"rendered":"The Weather Vane: A formative experience for many … and for you, too?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Occasionally a former <\/span>The Weather Vane <\/span><\/i>staffer brings into sharp relief the fact that writing for the student newspaper at a small university isn\u2019t just a fun way to pass the time; it\u2019s also vocation forming. <\/span><\/p>\n

Take, for example,\u00a0<\/span>Canadian Mennonite<\/span><\/i> executive editor <\/span>Virginia Hostetler \u201977<\/b>, who began writing for <\/span>The Weather Vane<\/span><\/i> as a second-year English major at Eastern Mennonite University and the following year co-edited the features section. <\/span><\/p>\n

That \u201cfirst taste of journalism,\u201d she notes in a recent column \u201cThe adventure of leadership,\u201d was part of a unique university experience that \u201ctaught us about community, grounded us in faith, honed our skills and gave us the impetus to use our gifts for service.\u201d Her student colleagues, she writes, have since worked in peace and justice, the ministry, publishing and education.<\/span><\/p>\n

In further testament to Hostetler\u2019s claim, alumni who read the EMU article <\/span>From ditto to digital, Weather Vane and loyal staffers still \u2018let readers know how the winds are blowing on campus\u2019<\/span><\/a> are likely to recognize names of past staffers from the paper\u2019s nearly eight-decades-long history.<\/span><\/p>\n

For me, one of at least three staff members \u2013 along with <\/span>Jim Bishop \u201967<\/b> and <\/span>Steve Shenk \u201973, MA \u201918 (interdisciplinary studies)<\/b> \u2013 to later be employed in the EMU marketing department, working for the student newspaper was a foundational experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I recently reread some of <\/span>The Weather Vane<\/span><\/i> columns I produced during my one-semester editorship in the fall of 1999, I realized that I am the same person today that I was two decades ago \u2013 continuing infatuation with dashes included. I\u2019d say that this \u2013 the personal consistency, not the excessive use of dashes \u2013 is a reflection not of stagnation but of how that time was an integral part of shaping my ongoing existence. <\/span><\/p>\n

Just weeks before the start of that semester, then-professor <\/span>Lauren McKinney<\/b>, who as I remember was about to hand the faculty advisorship over to the late <\/span>Richard Benner \u201869<\/b>, called me to ask if I\u2019d like to be editor. They just needed someone to fill in for a semester and were starting to feel, I suspect, quite desperate. <\/span><\/p>\n

I thought \u201cNo,\u201d said \u201cYes,\u201d and ended up writing wandering editorials like <\/span>this one mentioning my not walking down stairs with my hands in my pockets<\/span><\/a>, wisdom I continue to live by. Or, if you want to talk marketing strategy, there\u2019s this still-relevant piece, about how <\/span>it\u2019s better to be honest than good<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dick Benner taught me a lot about journalism that semester, often with red-ink scrawls over the latest issue but also \u2013 always \u2013 with a spirit of frank encouragement that has often come to mind during my subsequent and meandering professional life, even though after I graduated we only interacted on a handful of brief occasions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The good news in all this is that <\/span>The Weather Vane <\/span><\/i>continues, in print <\/span>and online<\/span><\/a>. A highlight two years ago was the paper staff\u2019s year-in-review issue, which flew off the campus distribution racks (but you can read it <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n

And here\u2019s more good news: <\/span>The Weather Vane<\/span><\/i>\u2019s past issues have been <\/span>digitally archived<\/span><\/a>. (They\u2019re searchable \u2013 find yourself!) <\/span><\/p>\n

A question for alumni who were involved with <\/span>The Weather Vane<\/span><\/i>: What are your memories? How did the experience shape you? <\/span><\/p>\n

Tell us your story in the comments (below), and we\u2019ll add it to <\/span>From ditto to digital<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Occasionally a former The Weather Vane staffer brings into sharp relief the fact that writing for the student newspaper at a small university isn\u2019t just a fun way to pass ... read more about The Weather Vane: A formative experience for many … and for you, too?<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":29900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,14715,17562,4513],"tags":[11971],"feature":[17427,17241],"class_list":["post-41468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-campus-life","category-digest","category-student-life","tag-weather-vane","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Weather Vane: A formative experience for many ... and for you, too? - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/the-weather-vane-a-formative-experience-for-many-and-for-you-too\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Weather Vane: A formative experience for many ... and for you, too? 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