I have two potential localization ideas I’m considering for story 2. The first idea is to take the recent scandals of Virginia politicians, especially Virginia’s governor, who have been discovered to have worn blackface in yearbook photos, and relate that story to what was found in Wake’s Howler yearbook. I attended the diversity and inclusion forum that was held this past Thursday, and there was a lot worth reporting. The forum really put into perspective the administration’s struggles to get this issue right, and how many African American students still feel the school does not do enough to improve equity and inclusion. The controversy of Wake’s Dean of Admissions Martha Allman being in an old photo with a confederate flag was one of the main talking points of the forum. Other potential sources for this story would be VP of Campus Life Penny Rue and the head of the Diversity and Inclusion Office at Wake who were also at the forum.

My other story idea is to localize Trump’s rhetoric which criticized SNL for doing a parody of his National Emergency press conference, and said they should face retribution. Trump has consistently viewed media outlets, especially network’s late-night shows, as slanderous and the “enemy of the people”. Many have pointed out that this may infringe on free speech rights. For the Wake Forest community, conversations about free speech have been especially salient since the 2016 election. There was the issue during the election regarding people hanging flags in their dorm windows, then there was the discussion about the code of conduct limiting free speech last year, and now I think it would be interesting to localize Trump’s criticisms of SNL to students’ and the faculty’s views on how free speech is treated on Wake’s campus. Considering we just had a diversity forum last week, I think it would be an ideal time to get people to discuss free speech. Sources for this story would be Wake students and administrators, along with professors who specialize in communications, such as Professor Mary Dalton who I had a chance to speak with last week.