FAQs:
Where can I find helpful facts, useful sources, relevant links, and other research tools?
What are the biggest challenges that college journalists face when researching issues of national security? How can I overcome those challenges?
How can I solicit student opinion on issues of national security? Is student polling useful?
What do students care about when it comes to national security?
How can I submit a student article?

If you have a question that has not been addressed, email it to cn@isi.org.

Where can I find helpful facts, useful sources, relevant links, and other research tools?
Look no further. The National Security Online Resource Center (NSORC) provides headlines, commentary, student articles, book and magazine reviews, online lectures, useful links, and much more. NSORC is designed to be a clearinghouse of information that will better familiarize college journalists with issues of national security. Be sure to utilize all that NSORC has to offer. If there is a feature that should be added, let us know at cn@isi.org (subject line: NSORC).

What are the biggest challenges that college journalists face when researching issues of national security? How can I overcome those challenges?
There are innumerable challenges facing college journalists, not the least of which include limited resources for research, competing priorities, and an apathetic audience.

Limited Resources for Research
When a college journalist commits to writing an article on a national security issue with a complex background such as the war on terrorism or the debate over national missile defense, he or she cannot be expected to spend a weekend in the library studying the issue. NSORC collects the research sources that will be helpful for writing articles on issues of national security. Feature topic pages analyze issues of national security and break down the complex issue into its core points. These pages also supply timelines, links, lists of major players, and useful tips for research. Recent headlines and commentary create an up-to-date snapshot. Online lectures and student articles from fellow college journalists present a unique companion to research. Book, magazine, and official document reviews allow for more comprehensive investigations.

Competing Priorities
"As a full time student that also works part-time, if I devote too much time to writing or researching for articles, then something else in my life, most likely my grades, will probably suffer," remarks David Ensley, a sophomore at the University of Georgia and contributor to The Georgia GuardDawg. David's concerns are not uncommon. College journalists have limited time for researching, writing, and editing an article before a submission deadline. NSORC recommends several techniques that will help counter this problem.

First, choose a topic that interests you. Every reader can identify an article that was written by a disinterested journalist, and few readers can finish one. Second, try to suggest or sign up for articles in which you have some background knowledge. It is admirable to seek out a rare topic about which you know nothing, but if you are a college student, it is unlikely you have the time to research adequately. Lastly, if possible, write articles that coincide with school-related research. If you wrote a paper in your international relations course about China and the United States, recycle the research into an article about the possible threat China poses to the United States. Choosing your articles wisely helps alleviate the stress of competing priorities that students experience.

An Apathetic Audience
College students are often labeled apathetic. It is true that the average college student cares more about his grades, college sports, and dating more than complicated tax reform and civil war in Africa, but that does not mean that they cannot care about issues of national security. Student apathy in response to issues of national security is the failure of media to portray the problem accurately or relate it to the college students. You, as a college journalist, are in a unique position to do both. You are the media source for college students for four (or more) years and you know what makes college students tick-you are one.

"The main difficulty in writing an article about national security is making the reader recognize the manner in which the issue impacts his or her life," comments Dominic Rupprecht, editor of The Counterweight and junior at Bucknell University. College students can read about weapons proliferation in hundreds of national and international publications, but they can only hear about how it affects them from your campus newspaper. Research a topic, find out how it affects a college student, and report the story to them. Relevance and good journalism are the only ways to battle apathy.

Stephen Nuño, senior at University of California, Irvine and editor of The Irvine Review, notes that while many students have a limited perspective and minimal knowledge when it comes to issues of national security, they often champion a strong position, especially on polarizing issues such as the war in Iraq. Sophomore Eric Fleury, associate editor of The Fenwick Review at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, observes an abundance of "students well-versed in opinions but lacking in actual knowledge." This is the easiest audience to enlighten. They believe they have a particular opinion but it is often based on the rant of a cable news pundit or a "Daily Show" skit. An article full of facts and arguments on either side that is specifically related to college students will serve them well. Note the difference between an article that reports the news and an editorial that comments on the news.

You may be the next Charles Krauthammer or Thomas Friedman, but for now you are a college journalist, reporting the news and how it impacts your audience. Present compelling and truthful articles on issues of national security to the student community and you will generate opinion and stimulate debate.

How can I solicit student opinion on issues of national security? Is student polling useful?
Many college journalists who were asked this question found that student polling data is, at best, "unscientific" and "unsatisfying," and, at worst, "unproductive" and "misleading." That can be said of student polling on any issue or of polling in general. Student polls, particularly those conducted on only one campus, are often misleading because of the process and/or parameters of the research. However, student opinion plays an important part in college journalism and should not be ignored. Polls conducted broadly and taken with a grain of salt can be helpful or, at worst, innocuous. Standing in the quad and asking fifty random students to name the leader of North Korea could be enlightening (or depressing). Asking for basic information about an issue-like "Can you name the leader of North Korea"-before asking for opinion is also quite helpful.

What do students care about when it comes to national security?
That is up to you to find out. College students are people like everyone else. You should find out what interests them and what affects them. You are also responsible to show them what is of interest and what can or will affect them. NSORC will feature topics that are of interest to the college community.

How can I submit a student article?
Email the document (and PDF if possible) to cn@isi.org (RE: NSORC article). Provide a byline that includes the author's name, major, position at the newspaper, and any other interesting information. All articles exploring issues of national security are welcome but special attention will be paid to articles that involve the current feature topics and that would be of interest to the national college journalist community. Please note that articles are not solely commentary.