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Marley Bassett

I am a sophomore student at Winthrop University who is double majoring in mass communication with a concentration in journalism and political science with a minor in history. I am currently the editor-in-chief of The Johnsonian and the president of the Society of Professional Journalists.

My Recent Work

“We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.”

I was looking through old newspapers from our vast archives to find ones to display at our 100th anniversary celebration and I began to think about the legacy of The Johnsonian and all of those who had come before us to begin the legacy and those who will come after us to continue the legacy.

For 100 years, this paper has been a constant on Winthrop’s campus. The Johnsonian has been there as a steady and reliable source for campus news, opinions, local news, features on those in our campus and

A valentine for the staff of The Johnsonian

Let’s face it; I cannot do the job of editor-in-chief alone. It would be impossible. The staff of The Johnsonian make my job so much easier.

They are absolutely wonderful and I could not do this job without them. They are so creative, dependable, kind decent human beings who I am lucky to have as both colleagues and friends. So here is a valentine for each of them.

To Mari: Thank you for being my right-hand person who I can always depend on to get things done on-time and correctly. Thank you f

“It all started with a Phish t-shirt”

Editor’s Note: These are my parents and I had the best time interviewing them.

Withers Education Building is not often thought of as a spot where love stories begin but that was the case for Winthrop alumni Valerie ‘96 and Kevin Bassett ‘94 who both graduated with a bachelor of science in early childhood education.

“I was on the third floor of the Withers Education Building talking with some professors to, you know, work on my resume.. And as I was coming out from talking with those professor’

Two bills proposed to ban critical race theory in SC Legislature

Amid the backdrop of similar education bills being proposed across the United States, both the South Carolina House and Senate have proposed bills to ban the instruction of critical race theory in all public schools and universities.

Critical race theory is defined as “a collection of concepts that race is a social construct, that racism is prevalent in American and Western society and that legal institutions are structured in such a way to perpetuate that racism,” according to Merriam-Webster

When is it enough? A journalist’s opinion on reporting in 2022

As a college journalist and the soon-to-be editor-in-chief of The Johnsonian during its centennial year, one question has often entered my mind: when is journalism enough?

As journalists, we are trained to report on every type of event. We have to cover college theater department plays, student life, and heavier topics concerning Title IX issues and traumatic events. We are trained to do so with a keen attention to accuracy and to be as unbiased as possible.

As I not only report but also take

Students for Accountability and Action chartering gets postponed after meeting with the Council of Student Leaders

The Council of Student Leaders (CSL) held a meeting earlier this month where they reviewed the charter application for the newly formed advocacy group, Students for Accountability and Action (SAA).

To start off the process, CSL president Miguel Caldwell, asked the group’s representatives, chair Jeremiah Willams and chief of staff Carrie Vaughn, to describe the organization’s purpose.

The questions asked ranged from the organization’s purpose to questions about the organization’s constitution a

This week in American politics

President Joe Biden announced his plans for reforming current policy on marijuana with three steps on Oct 6.

Biden announced a federal pardon for all those currently serving in prison for simple possession of marijuana. He is directing Attorney General Merrick Garland to develop a process to issue the pardon certificates.

“There are thousands of people who have prior Federal convictions for marijuana possession, who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result,”

This week in American politics

On Aug. 24, President Joe Biden passed an initiative that would allow up to 10,000 dollars of student debt to be canceled for those making under 125,000 dollars a year. It would also allow up to 20,000 dollars of loan debt to be canceled for Pell Grant recipients.

The plan also announced another pause on repayment until Dec. 31, 2022.

Borrowers who are eligible are encouraged to apply before Nov. 15, 2022, to receive relief when the payment freeze period ends, according to the Department of Ed