Journalism 133: Prof. Craig: Working on Headlines

WORKING ON HEADLINES

Here are some story leads and nut graphs from the Spartan Daily from five years ago today.  What would be some good headlines for these stories?

1. Despite growing public opposition to transportation of crude oil by rail since serious accidents such as the Lac-Megantic crash in 2013 a proposal to the Santa Maria Planning Commission might bring a crude oil train directly through Downtown San Jose. 
   Jill and Jack Sardegna, two concerned San Jose natives who live close to the train tracks, worry about pollution and other risks the trains could bring. “We didn’t think that this was a possibility here, and certainly not through a residential area,” Jill Sardegna said, “But here it is.” 
   San Jose State is in the potential impact zone of fires that could result from a derailment downtown, according to blast- zone.org, but the school’s administration is unprepared at this point to respond to such an event, according to SJSU Chief of Staff Stacy Gleixner at a press conference with student media last Wednesday. 
   “I don’t think we’ve given thought yet to what kind of precautions we might need to have in place,” Gleixner said.


2. A rare attempt at stealing San Jose State University’s One account passwords made its way through normal email security last week.
   The password attack was the result of a malware infection that latched onto the email account of an SJSU lecturer. The email sent from the lecturer’s account posed as “SJSU Admin.” The email, sent on Mar. 18, told users that SJSU.edu mail accounts were breached and users had to supply usernames and passwords to confirm new account setup by administrators.
   The phishing email warned that failure to comply with the password requests would lead to a user having his or her account disabled.
   


3. Many students are preparing to graduate this semester and they have to deal with student loan debt and the process of repaying the loans they borrowed. 
   Every year some college stu- dents are forced to break the bank for tuition, books, rent, food and weekend activities. 
   “College-age millennials (ages 18-25) surveyed across the country believe they will be ‘better off ’ or ‘the same’ as their parents,” states a recent Bank of America/USA TODAY Better Money Habits Millennial report.
   The average amount of college loan debt is $29,526 for graduate students and $17,629 for undergraduate students.
   


4. Drums pounded, wheels rolled and bright green flashed as the King Library Book Cart Drill Team performed to cele- brate St. Patrick’s Day yesterday. 
   The team performed on the first floor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, which is “best viewed from the upper balconies,” according to its Facebook page. 
   Staff and students lined the balconies of the upper floors to watch the short per- formance, which left audience members wanting more.
   


5. Sibling rivalry has a long his- tory of breeding sporting success. From Venus and Serena Williams to Peyton and Eli Manning there aren’t many stronger motivations than outdoing your kin. 
   Brothers Darren and Michael Tang, bowlers on San Jose State’s third-ranked team, are no exception. Last week Darren Tang, a senior mechanical engineering student, won a regional bowling title at the Professional Bowlers Association’s Sands Regency West/Northwest Winter Classic, netting a $2,000 prize.
   This is the latest in a long line of bowling success for Darren Tang and his brother Mi- chael Tang, a sophomore psychology major, who grew up bowling together.
   

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