Michigan State University today suspended all youth programs that were to take place on the East Lansing campus this summer in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). That means that the 2020 MIPA Summer Journalism Workshop will not happen in person at MSU.
We are sad to tell you this information, but we know it’s the right decision to protect our amazing participants and staff.
MIPA remains committed to creating meaningful journalism experiences for students and teachers. We are working on plans to bring elements of our summer workshop to an online platform. We know that a virtual workshop cannot recreate the experience of living on campus with other student journalists, but it can be a valuable tool to help students further explore journalism and prepare them for next fall.
We will share more information about this virtual workshop in the coming weeks.
Students who have already registered for the MIPA workshop have been notified via email. They will be offered full refunds, or may choose to apply their payment toward our virtual programs.
We also are working on various programs to help support students and teachers in the next few months as they work to finish the school year via remote platforms. And, of course, we are working on plans to bring our community together (virtually) to celebrate our annual MIPA award winners.
We are a little sad today, but we’re also very excited about the opportunity to explore new ways to connect and support student journalists and the journalism education community.
Be well and go team!
Sara-Beth Badalamente
Director, Michigan Interscholastic Press Association Summer Journalism Workshop
Jeremy Steele
Executive Director, Michigan Interscholastic Press Association