Throughout their time at cherubs, students learned how to report under the pressure of time, handle ethical questions and shoot videos for broadcast from instructors and renowned guest lecturers.
But many other lessons came from the people sitting right next to them.
“I got to learn more about how the U.S. government operates and about different states, whether they’re liberal or nonliberal states,” Alice Xiao of Beijing said. “Nearly all my friends here are super into political journalism, whereas in China we focus more on history and don’t emphasize political education a lot.”
Xiao is one of nine international students who brought unique perspectives from around the world to cherubs this year.
“Talking with the students from Ukraine about their experiences, and also being a journalist and a kid seeing misinformation online, was really eye-opening and demonstrated the importance of ethics,” Arden Li of Highland Park, New Jersey, said.
Arsen Shymon of Oleksandrivka, Ukraine, spoke about the war in Ukraine along with Vlada Hordiichuk of Lutsk, Ukraine, in an evening lecture with instructor Peter Slevin.
“Cherubs brings a lot of diversity, which I think is important to every program, especially a journalism program,” Shymon said, “because you have to highlight and represent different perspectives in your article.”
Attending cherubs, student journalists got to meet and experience cultures and perspectives beyond their hometowns.
“I remember in lectures we were talking about how it’s really important to have this diversity everywhere,” Shymon said. “But in Ukraine, people wouldn’t care that much about bringing diversity to newsrooms or the representation in their art.”
Students from across the U.S. not only welcomed international perspectives but shared their own lifestyles and attitudes toward journalism.
“It’s been really interesting to see how different people viewed the ethics lectures and censorship talks, such as people in southern states versus people in northern states,” Amalia Rosen of Highland Park, Illinois, said. “Hearing their own experiences with censorship at their school publications was an interesting conversation.”
Ultimately, cherubs said they benefited from hearing diverse perspectives from their peers, which added to their learning experience.
“I think diversity is inextricable from good journalism,” Li said, “and I think cherubs should always work towards being the most diverse it can be.”
