Wadsworth student journalists heading to Iowa caucuses

WADSWORTH — Journalists from all over the country will head to Iowa in advance of the Feb. 3 Democratic caucuses. Among them will be a group of local student journalists who say they are ready to take on the all-important political gathering of would-be presidential candidates and their supporters. A trip to Iowa has been secured by the staff of The Bruin, Wadsworth High School's student newspaper. The group along with teacher Eric Heffinger will make the trip Jan. 31 for the Feb. 3 caucuses before heading back to Wadsworth on Feb. 4. In Iowa, students will choose a campaign to volunteer for while also attempting to interview all candidates as well as journalists from national TV and newspaper outlets. "We're all pretty excited about this opportunity," said Heffinger. "Initially, our plan was to travel to the inauguration next year in D.C., but then I heard through a friend about Lordstown High School sending its own students to Iowa and that they had 15 open seats on the bus. So we'll be going out there with them. "It's a great opportunity for a group of kids that work very, very hard." Heffinger, who also serves as Medina's Ward 3 City Councilman, said choices among students who will be volunteering for Democratic campaigns have been evenly divided between former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. He added that other students have voiced support for President Donald Trump, who has scheduled a Jan. 30 rally in Des Moines, Iowa. "Lordstown students who are going are more of a political science club but our approach is going to be focused on journalism," he said. "Our students will work the whole weekend for the campaign that they choose. In the evenings, they'll go to rallies and stuff like that together. We'll also make an effort to get around to the other campaigns. When working, they'll be doing some real legwork and finding out what it takes to run a presidential campaign." While in Iowa, students will be writing stories for the Bruin as well as posting video blogs on social media. After the group returns, an entire issue of the Bruin will be dedicated to the experience. Wadsworth senior and Bruin editor-in-chief Halle Shaeffer said taking over the paper's top spot this year has led to her considering a career in journalism or public communication. "It wasn't originally my intent but this year has given me a lot to think about," she said. "At this point, I can really see myself going into the field. I think it would be really interesting and it's something I enjoy. I've gotten a lot of valuable experience this year and I'm grateful for those opportunities. It's taught me a lot whether you're talking about just journalism or life as a whole." The Bruin staff and Heffinger are holding their first formal meeting to set caucus plans today. "We have a lot of really committed students in our class," Shaeffer said. "It's been really fun. Mr. Heffinger first brought up this trip to us about a week ago. It's been a pretty quick process putting all of this together but we're all excited. For our stories, we want to get perspectives from everyone involved — the media, the candidates and the students." Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.