SISJ Club Recognizes the Importance of Journalism

The Society of Independent Student Journalists (SISJ) has had a memorable year at a time when the journalism industry is facing significant challenges to the First Amendment and a crisis in reputation. With all the talk of “fake news,” the CSUDH journalism club is earning a reputation that shows “real” journalism has never before been more important.

Earlier this year, the SISJ had the pleasure of welcoming Los Angeles Times journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Ruben Vives, who shared his narrative of being undocumented to uncovering one of the biggest scandals in Southern California history. As the undocumented community experiences increasing scrutiny and deportations, Vives’ narrative of perseverance and uncovering corruption from those in power showed our students even the most marginalized of voices can make a difference.

On May 3, 2017, the SISJ club was awarded the Presidential Award for Outstanding Program for hosting such an event. It was also fitting that this day marked international World Press Freedom Day, a day that we celebrate the fundamentals of journalism and defend the media from attacks on their independence. Moreover, it is a day in which we remember all those who died worldwide as a result of their duty and evaluate the state of press freedom not just nationwide but globally. This award meant so much to the club not just because of what journalism means to us but also what this club means to us personally.

What began with a group of three members struggling to keep the club afloat has grown to a committed club of 15. SISJ has hosted informative movie screenings and guest speakers, held fundraisers, and taken tours of network giants like Univision and Telemundo. The club has done this in hopes of giving our members a better understanding on how the media works as well acquiring internships through networking with industry professionals.

Along the way, we’ve been there for each other offering support both in our social and academic endeavors. We’ve also learned from each other, from Julissa James’ vegan lifestyle, to Carlos Alvarez’ passion for sports, to Da’ Ron Frost overcoming his speech impediment to become one of the most gifted writers at CSUDH. We are not just a club but a family of dedicated scholars. SISJ is an honor society so all of our members are pushed to the highest of standards, without a doubt a journalism trait.

Julissa James, V.P. of SISJ, for instance, won the Journalism Student of the Year Award for 2016-2017 as well as the Press Club scholarship. SISJ President Christian Mosqueda was the recipient of the Christian Anthony scholarship while SISJ secretary Jasmine Gibson was awarded a Leslie Nakai scholarship.

Some people call journalism the first draft of history. This year, one can say, is the first draft of amazing things happening to this club at Dominguez Hills. We now welcome the new line of officers for the upcoming 2017-2018 school year: President-Elect Jasmine Gibson, Vice-President-Elect Kalie Calder, Treasurer Frank Rojas, and Secretary Veronica Velazquez, who will guide the club on its next chapter at CSUDH.