Story Pitches

Dear Editor,
Being that more than half of the student population that attends Washington State University comes from the “west side” of the state, many of us know what it is like to drive the long trek to Pullman. The extensive drive has become routine for so many that drivers tend to forget about how dangerous it truly is. Considering the majority of the trip is a two-lane highway, it is very easy for drivers and their passengers to endanger themselves. This is why I propose to write an article focusing on the topic.

Last week a very good friend of mine encountered this danger after driving home near the end of finals week. The driver, who happens to play as a starter on the WSU football team, rolled his car and ended up surviving what should have been a fatal crash. He remains in intensive care at Harbourview Hospital in Seattle.

In this article, I propose to focus on my friend’s story and report it as news. I will cover statistics about how dangerous the drive is, talk about what occurred to my friend, and possibly include information about the foundation that has been created in honor of this accident. This should be interesting for readers because it hits close to home knowing that it is a fellow student. It is also somebody who plays for our football team, a thing that our school is very passionate about. This article will really affect students, and will hopefully remind them to drive safely in the future.

The sources I can use for my article are the driver himself, Cory Mackay, the school’s football coach (he could talk about Cory, and how this crash has affected him and his teammates), or the parent’s of Cory (this can touch readers by putting themselves, or their parents, in the Mackay’s shoes).


Dear Editor,
As many people who attend Washington State University may know, the campus’ Greek life is a major part of the community. It seems near impossible to go a day on the hill without acknowledging the fact that our campus has a very large, and very proud Greek system.

In my article, I propose to speak about the presence of Greek life on our campus and the effects it may cause. People in the system tend to be very exclusive, whether it is towards people who are not Greek or even to other Greek members that are in different houses. On the other side, those who are not in the Greek system tend to have negative opinions of the Greek community.

I would like to focus on exactly why people feel the way they do, and why the two groups are commonly so segregated from one another. I will make both sides of the issue very clear. This will be interesting for readers because they are either on one side of the topic or the other. It will be helpful for people to hear both sides of the spectrum in order to form their opinion, or to justify the one they currently have.Being a former member of the Greek community gives me a good angle to write this article. I know from experience what it is like to be on both sides, and that will help eliminate bias from my story.

Sources I can use are Greek members on the executive board of Pi Beta Phi Sorority or Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity (possibly the presidents of each). I can also use people who are not associated with Greek life, many of whom are here for summer session. It could also be interesting to interview a staff member, such as a teacher, to see if they notice any difference it makes among their students and they way they act towards one another.



Dear Editor,
Although Pullman has always come across as a very small town to me, as this summer session beings to progress, I can’t help but question how the little population affects local businesses. I have not yet seen one store close down for the summer, but I can’t imagine that they all are able to stay open with the little business they are receiving.

In this article, I propose to write about how the majority of a town being away for summer affects the town’s businesses. With the bad economy, it is probably hard enough for little shops and family owned restaurants to stay open, but how are they taking the hit of absent students? I will discuss the views of owners and managers, get numbers that record exactly how much of a drop they are receiving, how they deal with the loss of business, and why they continue to stay in a town that receives this drop every year around this time.This will be interesting for the readers because they reside in Pullman, and the people that are here for summer session probably have the same question as I do.

In order to get my information I will go visit one of the more popular stores such as Safeway or Starbucks, and speak with their managers to understand the effects it causes. I will also visit a smaller store or resturant, that may be exclusive to Pullman, such as The Old European resturant.