As summer semester begins and the 2020-21 academic year comes to a close, the editors here at the Six Mile Post share their reflections on the past year and all they have learned during their time on staff.

Olivia Fortner

Editor-in-Chief

When I began working as Editor-in-Chief for the Six Mile Post, I was handed a binder full of letters from previous EICs who had written a note for the person to fill their shoes. One thing I remember from their instruction was this, “This position will make or break you.” That’s what has kept me going when I felt like quitting, when it was tough to meet deadlines and get the work finished.

Though there have been hard word days and busy times, all of the good days and rewarding experiences far outway anything. I am thankful for the Six Mile Post. Through the opportunities I’ve had working here, I’ve been awarded for placing in many state competitions and even won a couple of GHC awards.

This experience and these people cannot be replaced. I am truly grateful for all I’ve been given.

Russell Chesnut

Managing Editor

Working on the Six Mile Post this year has helped me gain confidence in my professional work by giving me a platform to exercise my writing and design skills. Despite the challenges we faced shifting to a fully digital workflow, I enjoyed creating content with our driven team of editors. 

Taking on the role of Managing Editor without much previous journalism experience was daunting to me. Allison Hattaway, our journalism advisor, and the team were a great support and made me feel that my work was valued.

SMP has allowed me to write a variety of stories on subjects that interest me. As a student pursuing a degree in entomology, writing about stink bugs and cicadas catered to my passions. I was happy to share my thoughts on free speech through my opinion piece on Parler. I’m most proud of my story on student voting, where I got to survey GHC students and present that data visually.

My greatest takeaway from this year is that I shouldn’t take my voice for granted. Having a platform means having the power to start conversation, inform thinking and make ideas heard. Even though SMP is a small college newspaper, knowing our work can be influential has pushed me to make the most of it.

Joshua Mata

Business & Advertising Manager

Serving as the business and advertising manager for Six Mile Post has been a great experience. This job has helped me polish my communication and networking skills. I was able to grow a lot from working here. Due to COVID I was able to improve on my online communication skills. I felt that my business skills improved.

I am very thankful to have worked for this  newspaper. I was provided with great help from Mrs. Hattaway.  She did a phenomenal job at being a great advisor. I was able to learn a lot from her.

I was very lucky to have worked with such a great newspaper staff. I felt as if we were one big family. I will never forget the thanksgiving dinner we had as a staff. It was a very memorable experience.

I would highly recommend working for the school newspaper. It is a very supportive work environment that helps you succeed. I am very thankful to leave with the knowledge I have learned from working here. The experience from working here felt like a reward. The Six Mile Post took a student with little to no skills and helped make me into a polished worker.  I will look back at my time here with a smile.

Jackson Morris

News Editor

In my time as the News Editor for the Six Mile Post, I have been on an adventure that I did not expect. Before accepting my position for the paper, I had no interest in journalism or reporting. When I first got on board with the team, I really did not know what to expect. In my first few articles, I used what Mrs. Hattaway taught me to best guide me through the motions, and I attribute that to why it didn’t take long for me to get used to being a journalist.

My time with the SMP has led me to a new interest in photography and journalism. I was extremely fortunate to be the News Editor during the climax of the 2020 election cycle. My favorite moment with the paper was when I was tasked to report on President Trump’s rally in Rome. I got my camera and drove to Rome. I felt like a true reporter. Right after, I rushed to co-write an article with our Editor-in-Chief, Olivia Fortner. We even won an award for our photography.

My position has required me to become well acquainted with the staff and faculty of GHC. I really appreciate the help that has been given to me by those individuals, as many of my articles have been reliant on them.

The pandemic has not made reporting easy, but even in the face of it, I have been able to push through with a little effort to report on important news. I want to thank Mrs. Hattaway for being such a tremendous support throughout my time with the SMP.

Mariah Redmond

Opinion and Editorial Editor

Working on the Six Mile Post fully online this year has been such a new experience. I’ve never been so proud of our staff for overcoming the barriers COVID-19 has placed on us, whether it be faster turn-around times or limited amounts of time spent outside of the computer screen together.

This year has challenged me in more ways than one, but it also rewarded me. I was lucky enough to place second for Best Opinion-Editorial Column in the Southern Regional Press Awards. This is something I never expected to achieve, especially since it’s my first year as Opinion and Editorial Editor.

 It’s been an amazing experience working with the SMP. I’ll forever be thankful for this opportunity.

Brandon Dyer

Sports Editor

This is my second semester working for the Six Mile Post, and it was much different than last spring when I started. This semester, we went fully online, so it was nice to post things quickly and in a timely manner. With that, it also brought challenges. I feel that the staff was not as close as it was in Spring 2020 when I first started.

This semester has allowed me to be more involved with players and coaches than I ever was before due to me being comfortable having the experience from my first semester. For the most part, all the athletes and coaches that I talked to have been excited about the opportunities presented to them by being interviewed by the Six Mile Post.

My favorite part about being the Sports Editor is that I get to see these athletes come in without having much press on them throughout their playing career, and being one of the first people to interview them. I think a good interview is always something that is helpful to athletes and coaches alike. 

For those interested in becoming a part of the staff here at the Six Mile Post, applications are now being accepted for the fall. 

The eleventh annual GHC Public Speaking Competition continues on a virtual platform this spring. Students from all majors and campuses have entered and faculty judges are weighing in, but the student body can too. This year brought 58 entries, 30 semifinalists and five finalists.

Watch the five finalist speeches at the links below and vote for your favorite HERE by Wednesday, April 28 at 11:59 p.m.

Interested in the annual speech competition and participating in the future? Check out publicspeaking.highlands.edu for more information.

The Lady Chargers gave up the win to South Plains yesterday, with a final score of 49-65, in the Sweet 16 of the NJCAA National Tournament in Lubbock, TX.

The Lady Chargers finished their season ending with a 21-4 record.

Read a full update by GHC Sports Information Director, Jason Hitzeman, here.

The Lady Chargers will take on South Plains in round 2 of the NJCAA women’s basketball tournament!

Here are the watch party locations:

Floyd Campus: W-333
Cartersville Campus: Student Center Game Room
Happening today at 2pm!

Georgia Highlands College’s student newspaper, the Six Mile Post (SMP), won three first-place awards from the Southern Regional Press Institute (SRPI) and a first-place award from the Georgia College Press Association (GCPA).

From the SRPI, the SMP brought home first-place awards for Best Website, Best Opinion or Editorial in the Editorial category and Best Podcast or Internet Streamed Show as well as Best Campus Community Service-Sports for the GCPA.

“This year’s staff has only met in person one time this year and has still managed to produce quality, award-winning work that rivals previous years,” SMP Faculty Advisor and Assistant Professor of Journalism and Communications Allison Hattaway said. “These students have covered history and covered it well – from COVID-19 to stink bugs to the 2020 election.”

Julia Belew, who served as SMP Editor-in-Chief from August 2020 to February 2021, said she felt lucky to be surrounded such talented writers at the SMP. For example, Belew cited the work of managing editor Russell Chesnut.

“Their pieces portrayed real journalism and I am so glad they got the recognition they deserved,” Belew said. “I am also proud of winning first place for Best Opinion or Editorial for our unsigned ‘Let’s get down with pronouns’ piece.”

The SRPI judges noted “bold, clear and unapologetic position on a widely discussed and misunderstood topic” for the newspaper’s editorial titled “Let’s get down with pronouns” and cited individual reporters’ data-driven, creative and eye-opening stories.

Current Editor-in-Chief Olivia Fortner, who is majoring in the Bachelor of Business Administration program, said she is very proud of all the staffers at SMP. Due to COVID, the routine of writers and contributors meeting in person to discuss current events and campus news has been put on hold.

The SMP has been working remotely and communicating through Zoom, which creates a daunting scenario for students who are taking on the challenge of covering campus news in addition to their responsibilities inside and outside of the classroom.

“Because of these changes, our staff is much smaller than it has been in recent years,” Fortner said. “However, I am not surprised that we received these awards because I have witnessed, firsthand, the hard work and dedication all the staff have put in to maintain excellence.”
Taking on multiple roles had staffers and GHC journalism students like Brandon Dyer receiving awards for both writing and photography. Dyer won a second-place award for photography, as well as a second-place award for Best Column.

“The column that I wrote with my Sports Editor at the time, Bradley Singh, is one of my favorite pieces I have published for the Six Mile Post,” Dyer said.

The Six Mile Post team won the following awards:

Southern Regional Press Institute Awards
Staff Awards
Best Website – 1st Place
Best Opinion or Editorial – 1st Place
Best Opinion or Editorial – 2nd Place

Individual Awards
Best Podcast or Internet Streamed Show – 1st Place – Austin Williams and Kimberly Lyons
Best News Story – 2nd place – Russell Chestnut
Best Features Story – 2nd place – Russell Chestnut
Best Features Story – 3rd Place – Michelle Hardin
Best Opinion or Editorial – 3rd Place – Alexis Johnson
Best Sports Story – 2nd Place – Trevin Wade
Best News Photography – 2nd Place – Jackson Morris and Olivia Fortner
Best News Photography – 3rd Place – Jackson Morris
Best Features Photography – 3rd Place – Olivia Fortner

Georgia College Press Association Awards
Staff Awards
Best Campus Community Service – Sports – 1st place
Best Campus Community Service – News – 3rd Place
Best Photo Essay – 3rd Place
Best Website – 3rd Place
General Photography Excellence – 3rd Place
Layout and Design Excellence – 2nd Place

Individual Awards
Best Photograph-Editorial/Feature – 3rd Place – Olivia Fortner
Best Column – 2nd Place – Mariah Redmond, Brandon Dyer, Bradley Singh
Best Photograph – Sports – 2nd Place – Brandon Dyer
Best Photograph-News – 3rd Place – Olivia Fortner
Best Sports Story – 2nd Place – Austin Williams

The Georgia Highlands annual Writers Conference took an online approach this year. On Feb. 27, writers gathered via Zoom to share their knowledge of their passions with students.

This year’s featured writers included Brian Oliu and Jason McCall, who gave tips to a contemporary audience on nontraditional subjects.

“I write about my obsessions.” Said Oliu, “it’s a lot more fun to do research on. I love this thing, why don’t I just write about it.”

“[Think] of writing as this reservoir and you want to try to keep it full in some way possible.” Said McCall, “by keeping my reservoir as an artist full, it comes down to transitioning between reader, writer, and literary citizen. A lot of that is figuring out what you need in that moment as a writer.”

The conference included sessions on the topics of poetry and fiction, as well as a screenwriting panel that included Highlands’ very own Mackleen Desravines. Desravines had her directorial debut in 2018 with the film Smoke, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

“A lot of the stories that I come with, they’re usually about something that’s going on around me.” said Desravines “What do I see? What do I hear a lot of?”

“We knew we wanted to select speakers that would feel comfortable in our online format.” said Jessica Lindberg “Brian and Jason, Mackleen and Kelly DeLong are all teachers as well as writers, and they have been holding classes via Zoom this year, so they understand the challenges and benefits of online conferences!”

The conference is hosted by the English department every spring. Those who attended received a free t-shirt and full access to the panels and sessions

Highlands Writers Conference will be taking place online on Feb. 27. It’s free and open for everyone to enjoy. 

Visit hwc.highlands.edu to register for the event and receive a free HWC shirt by mail. 

“The HWC is unique in that it offers very close encounters with nationally recognized professional writers across a wide range of genres,” said Division Chair for School of Humanities Jessica Lindberg. 

“Attendees of the HWC speak highly of how down-to-earth our conference is — how casual and open it is to all levels of writers. We hope all attendees will feel encouraged to keep working on their dream projects and even start new ones after hanging out with our authors,” Lindberg said.

Writers to be featured at this year’s conference include Kelly DeLong, who is a Clark Atlanta University instructor, author of the novel “The Poor Sucker,” and the non-fiction book “The Freshman Year at an HBCU.” The event will also feature Brian Oliu and Jason McCall.

Anyone interested in joining should register early. There is no deadline for registration, but each workshop holds 20 participants at a time.

In an abundance of caution, due to the potential for inclement weather, all GHC locations will delay opening until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 16.

All in-person classes beginning before 10 a.m. are cancelled. Online classes will continue as scheduled.

To receive direct alerts and updates, sign up for GHC Notify. Learn how here.

This year’s annual speech competition moved to a virtual platform and received 76 recorded student entries. A panel of volunteer faculty judges have whittled down the entries to five student finalists. Now it’s time for the GHC student body to weigh in before the judges select the final winner.

Watch the five finalist speeches at the links below and vote for your favorite HERE by Wednesday, Nov. 18. The winner will be announced before Thanksgiving break.

Interested in the annual speech competition and participating in the future? Check out publicspeaking.highlands.edu.

Georgia Highlands College will begin distributing $2,110,118 in CARES Act funds to students affected by changes due to COVID-19.

The CARES Act establishes and funds the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) and allows institutions of higher education to use funds they receive to cover any costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus.

As soon as funds are made available to GHC for disbursement, an email will be sent out to notify all students with an expected funding date, and GHC will distribute those funds to affected students.

Right now, funding will only be available for those who have completed a 2019/2020 FAFSA application before June 30, 2020. Students in the Dual Enrollment program, transient students or students who started the semester in online-only classes will not be qualified for these funds.

Additional eligibility requirements may be found at caresact.highlands.edu

You may also read more about CARES Act and these funds by visiting the US Department of Education website.