UNC Student Bloggers Are Hot Greeley Colorado Journalism Tamales

I really like being surprised in a positive way. I revisited the UNC site where The Cranky Copy Editor, Lynn Klyde-Silverstein, has rounded up a tussle of students in a journalism class and has them blogging on Greeley Colorado's City Council meetings. Of course, I already posted about this previously. I also added a link to the site in my blog list and am crossing my fingers she will turn a blind-eye to my own spelling and grammar errors. Possibly my headlines too. Today I went back and read through some of the postings on the site and loved it.

Positively.

To explain I have to get into the age thing and I really hate that but I'll do it anyway. It is kind of like having your teenager's friend bump into you while you are carrying your Lady Clairol Grey Coverage hair dye to the drugstore counter. Where is that instant rewind button when you need it? However I've spent a lot of years in college, around college, teaching, learning, and just hanging out in various art departments when I had the time. Our town was small and the teachers and professors always had open doors. My point is that the shared viewpoint you get from people on the beginning edge of life is better than any fine wine I have ever encountered and I've encountered a few. That blend of seeing the world through newer eyes and open minds and trying to pen it all with a wise brush tends to the freshest content imaginable. And, in general, genuine and honest.

I miss having this experience on a regular basis and it is nice to be able to find it here, on a blog, in such a refreshing and easy way. It opens up your world a bit to how the next generations are going to deal with some of our leftovers. Like poor policy choices and budget fiascoes.

Here, on this blog The Cranky Copy Editor, you can find several versions of what happened the other night when the City Council shot down the pot dispensaries. And you get to read it from a generational perspective that, I'm guessing, has grown up with more of a weed culture than someone, say, my age did. This particular topic is of interest to me because I have lived in a town where dispensaries were allowed and have seen the positives and negatives.

I'll paste below one passage from one student's blog for a sample. But I really recommend checking these out if you are inclined, as I am, to enjoy the diversity of opinions and life that sometimes can arrive in the most simplistic packages.

I really enjoyed the last line. Calling it like it is!

From Tori Gutt's blog page. After much public input, the Council discussed the possibilities before voting on the ordinance. Mayor Ed Clark definitively stated that he is against dispensaries and therefore in favor of the ordinance. Councilmember Feldhaus agreed, stating that despite the compelling arguments from the audience, and the compassion he said he feels for the patients, there are just too few regulations in place to safely allow dispensaries. Councilmember Martin was the only one on the other side of the fence. He argued that dispensaries are the only way to enforce and regulate medical marijuana rules. Martin was unable to convince the others to oppose the ordinance resulting in a 6-1 vote to adopt the ordinance. This means that medical marijuana dispensaries are not allowed within the city of Greeley, but patients still may grow marijuana for their own personal use and continue to use the substance. The community support was there, the Council just wasn’t budging.