The Associated Student Body (ASB) has taken a new approach to publicizing campus developments.
The student-led organization recently began expanding its outreach through videos to better interact with the student body. This improved communication attracts more attention to upcoming events and informs students about schedule changes, campus developments, and clubs. ASB’s videos make up the Carlmont Newscast.
The newscast emerged at the start of the second semester. Its founding members include seniors Allison Raisner, Jono Sison, and Nathan Hsich, who worked with Carlmont’s digital photography and digital arts teacher, Kathy Rodriguez, to establish the channel.
Every week, ASB members meet in F10 to record and plan the next episodes of the newscast. ASB members take turns participating in the project to offer the opportunity to experience the video production process to anyone interested.
This process is made possible by the support of Rodriguez, who gives ASB access to a studio, teleprompter, microphone, and other necessary equipment to record its videos.
After the recording process, Rodriguez personally edits the videos and sends them out to teachers to show their students every Wednesday during the third period.
Nicole Kopelev, a junior, helps facilitate the media side of ASB by running its Instagram and TikTok. Kopelev, with the help of her classmates, edits and compiles videos to be posted on these social media pages. Since Kopelev’s social media expertise aligns with the skills necessary to produce videos, she hopes to expand ASB’s role in the newscast.
“It would be cool if ASB could help with the editing of the weekly news in the future because we are more than capable of assisting,” Kopelev said.
The newscast team is still refining its videography and editing skills and adding new elements to the production process. For example, Rodriguez began experimenting with different filters during the editing to make the videos more unique.
“I think that the Carlmont Instagram account is more tailored to ASB and their events, whereas the newscast should be more about different clubs and groups on campus,
— Nathan Hsich
Another element that will distinguish the newscast is the personalized announcements that ASB members can contribute.
“As members of ASB, we have the option to put in a personal message. I’m just not aware of anyone that has taken that opportunity yet,” Kopelev said.
Regular newscasters like Hsich hope that the program will grow from a collection of videos into an integral part of campus life.
“Teachers would need to be more on board with it. We send out the videos to everybody, all the teachers, but I don’t think all teachers show the video announcements,” Hsich said.
More often than not, teachers cannot cut out time from their schedules to show the videos, especially as finals draw closer.
“We have a limited time to teach, and the third period is already cut short by school announcements. So cutting the period short, even further, would just be taking more time from learning or studying,” said sophomore Eli Nathan.
Additionally, due to the small scale of the program and a lack of exposure, many students are not aware of the newscast. Instead, these students rely on emails and Canvas notifications for event details and schedule changes. Some people have ideas for how the newscast could capture the attention of a larger audience.
“I would want to see more fun announcements rather than mundane ones,” Nathan said.
This entertaining content could become a bonus to the newscast, but its primary objective boils down to spreading essential information in an engaging way.
“The main goal for me would be to get the word out to students that they can spread their news through the newscasts and should not be afraid to reach out to Ms. Rodriguez,” Hsich said.
