News Report Requirements:
The subjects we cover in WMST 200 appear in the news daily. Part 1 of the Current Topic Project is a report on a news article which will connect our course work to the most current developments of interest to the field, especially those that impact people’s day-to-day lives.
1. Select a news article published in the last 12 months that focuses on a topic of interest to Women’s Studies [choose from the list below, or choose your own based on the criteria described in the next section of this assignment].
2. After you have read your chosen news article, respond to the questions below in a report about the article and what you have learned, focusing on the aspects of interest to Women’s Studies:
    1. Title, author, publication, date, and url for your news article.
    2. Brief (1-2 sentence) summary of the main topic of the article.
    3. Why would this article be of particular interest to a Women’s Studies student or scholar? If you’re not sure, one place to start is to review the information about Women’s Studies found in Module 1: What Is Women’s Studies?.
    4. What did you learn that you didn’t already know by reading this article?
    5. Which topic, person, example, or idea in the article would you like to know more about? What questions would you suggest the reporter ask in a follow-up article?
    6. What social, political, personal, historical, economic, artistic, or other impact might the information in this article have? Why?
    7. Is there anything you read or thought about while reading the article that has relevance to your life outside of this class or outside of the article itself?

Include quotes and examples to support your discussion as part of your responses to questions 3-7. Remember to include in-text citations and a References list for all references to the article or class learning resources, whether quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

Please note that this assignment is a report, not an essay. You must write in complete sentences, but you do not have to write it as an essay with a thesis, body paragraphs, etc.. Instead, it is recommended that you number each response as you answer the questions. To meet the word count requirement, be sure to answer questions 3-7 in detail, and give specific examples or quotes (cited!) for each answer.

Choosing a news article:
An acceptable news article for this assignment meets all four of the following criteria:
1. is found on one of the publications/sites listed in this Forbes report of 10 Journalism Brands Where You Find Real Facts Rather Than Alternative Facts: [there are many more than ten reliable news sources to choose from if you scroll to the bottom of the article]
2. was published in the last 12 months.
3. has a byline (a named author), and is not marked “op-ed,” “opinion,” or “editorial”
4. has as its main focus a topic of interest to Women’s Studies
If you are uncertain if the article you have found is acceptable for this assignment, ask your instructor before proceeding, or choose one of the approved articles in the list below:
* Minority Women Are Winning the Jobs Race in a Record Economic Expansion (New York Times) [July 2019]
* Ilhan Omar is unlike anyone who has served in Congress. This is her complicated American story. (Washington Post) [July 2019]
* Female lawmakers needed a critical mass in Congress before they could begin chipping away at the inequalities baked into the nation’s laws. (The Atlantic) [July 2019]
* U.S. Wins World Cup and Becomes a Champion for Its Time (New York Times) [July 2019]
* She Led a Famed Progressive Church. Then She Said She Was Harassed (New York Times) [July 2019]
* The Evolution of Emma Chamberlain (New York Times) [July 2019] [about YouTube star]
* The Taliban Promise to Protect Women. Here’s Why Women Don’t Believe Them.  (New York Times) [July 2019]
* Jeffrey Epstein, R. Kelly and a Change in How Prosecutors Look at Sexual Assault (New York Times) [July 2019]
* Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens? [female undercover investigator] (Cosmopolitan) [August 2019]
* Women Are Fleeing Death at Home. The U.S. Wants to Keep Them Out. (New York Times) [August 2019]
* Why Doesn’t Anyone Want to Live in This Perfect Place? [lesbian utopian communities] (New York Times) [August 2019]
* Stacey Abrams Is 10 Steps Ahead Of You (Isn’t That Great?) (Bustle) [August 2019]
* In Coal Country, the Mines Shut Down, the Women Went to Work and the World Quietly Changed (New York Times) [September 2019]
* When Choice is 221 Miles Away: The Nightmare of Getting an Abortion in the South (Mother Jones) [September 2019]
* ‘I Refuse to Listen to White Women Cry:’ Activist Rachel Cargle (Washington Post) [September 2019]
* Meet the New Wave of Female Builders (Washington Post) [September 2019]
* What if Your Abusive Husband Is a Cop? (The New Yorker) [September 2019]
* How Employers Make It Impossible For Working Women To Breastfeed (HuffPost) [September 2019]
* ‘Planned Parenthood’s Secret Weapon’ [about depiction of abortion in movies] (Washington Post) [September 2019]
* Why NASA’s First All-Women Spacewalk Made History (New York Times) [October 2019]
* Saudi Women Are Breaking Free From the Black Abaya (Wall Street Journal) [October 2019]
* These two articles should be considered together. If you choose them, include both titles/authors/url/etc. in #1 on the report:
    * I Was the Fastest Girl in America, Until I Joined Nike (New York Times) [November 2019]
    * Nike vows investigation following Mary Cain’s allegations of abuse at Oregon Project (Washington Post) [November 2019]
* The Quinceaera, Redefined: a traditional rite of passage has become a celebration of identity.  (New York Times) [November 2019]
* How a Divided Left Is Losing the Battle on Abortion (New York Times) [December 2019]
* Housing. Money. Benefits. Military Wives Can Lose It All When They Report Domestic Abuse. (HuffPost) [December 2019]
* The Wild Woman Awakens {feminist art} (New York Times) [December 2019]
* Positive promotion: Two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields is battling for pro titles and more EXPOSURE for women’s boxing. (Washington Post) [December 2019]
* When the Surgeon Is a Mom (New York Times) [December 2019]
* Mona Eltahawy Would Like You to Fuck Right Off With Your Civility Politics (Vice) [December 2019]
* Opioid overdoses among women have increased dramatically. But treatment centers are still designed for men. (The Lily) [January 2020]
* Brad Pitt and the Beauty Trap (New York Times) [January 2020]
* Pressured by Simmons Over Expos, Oprah Winfrey Faced a Big Decision {#MeToo} (New York Times) [January 2020]
* ‘Nobody needs another pink hat’: Why the Women’s March is struggling for relevance (Washington Post) [January 2020]
* India’s first-time protesters: Mothers and grandmothers stage weeks-long sit-in against citizenship law (Washington Post) [January 2020]
* Rural Montana Had Already Lost Too Many Women. Then Selena Disappeared. (New York Times) [January 2020]
* The Amish Keep to Themselves. And They’re Hiding a Horrifying Secret (Cosmo) [January 2020]
* Women outnumber men in the American workforce for only the second time (Washington Post) [January 2020]
* For female leaders, humor is a blessing. Unless it’s a curse. (Washington Post) [January 2020]
* Can You Cure a Domestic Abuser? (The Atlantic) [January 2020]
* Why Won’t Society Let Black Girls Be Children? (New York Times) [February 2020]
* Harvey Weinstein accuser Jessica Mann’s dramatic testimony is a new kind of test in sex-crime trials (Washington Post) [February 2020]
* Harvey Weinstein Is Found Guilty of Sex Crimes in #MeToo Watershed (New York Times) [February 2020]
* Where Being a Single Woman Is Not OK {video} (New York Times) [February 2020]
* They Killed Their Husbands. Now in Prison, They Feel Free. (New York Times) [February 2020]
* Deer Overpopulation Meets Its Match: Women Who Hunt (New York Times) [February 2020]
* Abortion Clinics Are Getting Nickel-and-Dimed Out of Business (Bloomberg Business) [February 2020]
* ‘Angels’ in Hell. The Culture of Misogyny Inside Victoria’s Secret (New York Times) [February 2020]
* ‘In Italy I Kept Meeting Guys’: The Black Women Who Travel for Love (New York Times) [February 2020]
* This Is Not a Love Story At 16, Kate Elizabeth Russell saw her book about a student’s affair with a teacher as a romance. She sees it differently now. (Vulture) [February 2020]
* The Hollywood Con Queen (MarieClaire) [February 2020]
* Jewish Women Move Into a Male Domain: Ritual Circumcision Female mohels are in high demand. (New York Times) [February 2020]
* The #MeToo Case That Divided the Abortion-Rights Movement (The Atlantic) [March 2020]
* They Ordered Her to Be a Suicide Bomber. She Had Another Idea. (New York Times) [March 2020]
* For Mexico, a day without women: Female workers plan national strike against rising gender violence (Washington Post) [March 2020]
* Saudi Law Granted Women New Freedoms. Their Families Don’t Always Agree. (New York Times) [March 2020]
* The Wing Is a Women’s Utopia. Unless You Work There. (New York Times) [March 2020]
* These South Korean women went abroad to get married. Then one spoke out at home, and the backlash began. (Washington Post) [March 2020]
* ‘I Feel Like I Have Five Jobs’: Moms Navigate the Pandemic (New York Times) [March 2020]
* The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism (The Atlantic) [March 2020]
* Sinad O’Connor is still in one piece (Washington Post) [March 2020]
* You Are Your Safest Sex Partner. Betty Dodson Wants to Help. (New York Times) [March 2020]
* Preexisting staffing shortages and dismal pay are colliding with a crisis thats testing the limits of the nurses and health aides caring for the sick and elderly. (The Atlantic) [April 2020]
* In a Victory for Women in Sudan, Female Genital Mutilation Is Outlawed (New York Times) [April 2020]
* I had to choose being a mother: With no child care or summer camps, women are being edged out of the workforce (The Lily) [May 2020]
* With Four More Shots Please!, India Gets Its Own Sex and the City (New York Times) [May 2020]
* Why Arent We All Talking About Breonna Taylor? (New York Times) [May 2020]
* The First Year Out: Makeda Davis emerged from more than seven years in prison to a life that is complicated, unfamiliar, and, sometimes, soul crushing (Marie Claire) [June 2020]
* We Fascinated Them: Shailah Edmonds on a Golden Era of Black Models (New York Times) [June 2020]
* Trump Administration Erases Transgender Civil Rights Protections in Health Care (New York Times) [June 2020]
* The Rape Kits Secret History (New York Times) [June 2020]
* Female public health officials say they are shocked by the harassment they face over coronavirus response (The Lily) [June 2020]
* One Year on Testosterone (New York Times) [June 2020]
* Climate Change Tied to Pregnancy Risks, Affecting Black Mothers Most (New York Times) [June 2020]
* The Pandemic Has Reshaped American Fatherhood. Can It Last? (New York Times) [June 2020]
* A dad posted joyful photos of black fathers to shatter stereotypes. Then it became a movement. (Washington Post) [June 2020]
* Can Domestic Abusers Keep Themselves Accountable When No One Is Watching? (The New Yorker) [June 2020]
* The Girlboss Has Left the Building (The Atlantic) [June 2020]
* The Reckoning Will Be Incomplete Without Black Women and Girls: The nationwide outcry against systemic racism almost always centers men and boys. (The Atlantic) [June 2020]
* The Trans Future I Never Dreamed Of (The Atlantic) [June 2020]
* Black Trans Women Seek More Space in the Movement They Helped Start (The New York Times) [June 2020]
* I Cant Focus on Abortion Access if My People Are Dying  (New York Times) [June 2020]
* W.N.B.A. Stars Role in Freeing Man From Prison Shows Female Athletes at Forefront (New York Times) [July 2020]
* For Nannies, Both a Job and a Family Can Abruptly Disappear (New York Times) [July 2020]
* Black women say Pinterest created a den of discrimination despite its image as the nicest company in tech (Washington Post) [July 2020]
* ‘You have to take action’: one hospital cleaners journey through the pandemic (The Guardian) [July 2020]
* I Am Going to Physically Explode: Mom Rage in a Pandemic (New York Times) [July 2020]
* Military women are saying #IAmVanessaGuillen. Here are 4 of their stories. (The Lily) [July 2020]

Writing Guidelines:
This report should demonstrate that you
* read the article closely.
* are considering the article from the perspective of Women’s Studies.
* can write an organized, clear, detailed, and properly cited report .
Use APA Style to format the report and all citations (in-text and in the references list).
Here are some links to resources which cover the APA format:
* Citation Guides for APA styles at the UMGC Library
* Video help for APA format through UMGC
While I am happy to answer questions about the assignment, I encourage you to make use of UMGC’s Effective Writing Center if you’d like detailed writing help or another set of eyes to look at your paper before you turn it in. The EWC will require a few days to review a draft, so you will need to finish the paper early if you want to submit it to them.
There is a sample News Report attached to this assignment. It is not a perfect paper, and yours does not need to look exactly like it, but it demonstrates a good understanding of the assignment and formatting requirements. The sample assignment is for informational purposes only. Your News Report should contain entirely original work, even if you choose a similar topic.