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Forum for high school journalism students held

Misericordia University hosted high school journalism students who learned about life as a foreign affairs reporter in the Middle East during a forum and writing workshop presented by reporter Deborah Horan. Horan is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow who spent a week on the Misericordia campus discussing her work as a foreign affairs staff reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

Horan is known for her in-depth reporting of Iran, Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and U.S. foreign and economic policy. Since March 2003, she has focused her reporting on the Arab world’s reaction to the Iraq war and has spent time in Cairo, Beirut, and Baghdad. She previously served as the Jerusalem-based correspondent for The Houston Chronicle, The San Francisco Chronicle, and the Inter Press Service. Her work has been chosen for submission to the Pulitzer board.

More than 50 high school students from Dallas and Tunkhannock area high schools participated in both a journalism workshop and a forum on the United States’ role in world politics and its impact on the presidential election.

Students also participated in the forum, “Choosing a President: Considering the Issues,” featuring Horan and Misericordia faculty members, Brian F. Carso, Ph.D., a political historian and assistant professor of history and director of the pre-law program, and Cosima B. Wiese, Ph.D., associate professor of biology. Horan discussed U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, while Dr. Carso offered his expertise in the American political system and Dr. Wiese added a science and technology perspective to the discussion.