At 6 am, Monday the 4th of November, the sun was not up.

But the RHS journalists were.

After more than 2 hours on a bus, 20 Rhinebeck Reality reporters, editors, designers, RHS yearbook staffers, and creative writers arrived at the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s (CSPA) fall conference.

Held at Columbia University on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the CSPA Conference offered students a wide rage of classes to partake in, ranging from lectures on the rights of student journalists, to learning caption writing editing skills and contributing to the world of journalism as a whole.   

Moving from building to building on campus with the conference app as a guide, students chose to attend five workshops from over 80 sessions on student publishing.  Students got an hour break to eat lunch of their choice.  

Ms. Baer and Ms. Van der Thoorn at the nearby Hungarian Pastry Shop during lunch hour.Close to a thousand students and speakers attended the event from all over the country including Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, and New York. 

Industry professionals, journalism teachers, and poets led workshops all day.  Speakers included prominent writers and journalists including Danielle Ivory, a reporter for the New York Times, and university professors like Laura Schaub, C. Randy Stano, and Helen Smith.  

On session called “How to Be More Creative” with Sean Kelly, contributing journalist to the NYT, encouraged students to think with child-like optimism and positivity.  He advised to use the “Yes, and…” approach used in improv to let anything happen.

Graphics and tech guru, Jacob Palenske presented a session entitled “You Sound Like, Um… Stupid? Ya Know?,” modeling successful Instagram techniques for journalists in the digital age.

The Student Press Law Center (SPLC) gave out stickers and magnets encouraging freedom of the press in schools.  Their postcards asked: “What’s the story you would tell if nobody stopped you?”

The day inspired RHS students in many ways.   When Emily Lyons learned that other schools’ journalists go to political rallies, she took note.

“Since I’m planning on minoring in PolySci, this really peaked my interest.  I’m hoping some candidates come to NY so we can report as journalists and gain that valuable experience,” Emily Lyons said.

Student publications will definitely reflect the skills and wisdom gained from the experience at CSPA’s fall conference this year.