By Cindy Chen
May 15, 2019
This is my story of how writing became an escape, rather than a chore, through journaling — and then journalism. Coming to America with English as my second language I always thought it was the hardest subject to master. Being the quiet shy kid in class, I felt inferior with my English language skills […]
Read moreBy Courtney Staton
March 27, 2019
Earlier this month, as part of the NeXt Doc Fellows, a fellowship which promotes 20 to 24-year-olds identified as the next generation of documentary filmmakers, I attended the True/False Documentary Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri. I watched “The Commons,” a film about the protests surrounding the Silent Sam statue and the Pit. I watched […]
Read moreBy Spencer Carney
February 27, 2019
Whenever my family and I visit my dad’s hometown, we always make sure to do what we call the “Old Homes” tour, where we drive around and see the houses that my dad and his siblings grew up in. This tour also includes us driving his old paper delivery route. He points out the houses […]
Read moreBy Jock Lauterer
February 14, 2019
As every good reporter knows, a proper news story must satisfy a little formula we newsies call “the Five Ws.” What, who, where, why, when…and sometimes How. So, here are the 5W’s on our own story. WHAT: With this new year, the Durham VOICE turns 10, a marker anniversary that could not have been […]
Read moreBy Rocky Jones
November 14, 2018
Nobody likes being told what to do, but the truth is without regulations there is no order. But does this mean the government can literally set children up for failure? The school-to-prison pipeline is not new — in fact, according to NC Child, an advocacy organization for North Carolina kids, the school-to-prison pipeline began […]
Read moreBy Jock Lauterer
October 12, 2018
Editor’s Note: During her senior year at UNC-Chapel Hill, Elise Clouser served as a staff writer-photographer for the Durham VOICE. Upon graduation in 2017, she was hired as a reporter by the Carteret County News-Times of Morehead City, which donates the printing of the Durham VOICE as a public service. We wanted to know […]
Read moreBy Rocky Jones
September 17, 2018
When there is no barrier between adolescence and adulthood, what makes a person “grown-up?” Standing at the Durham bus terminal one day, I asked a random young male what did he think makes him an adult. “I’m not an adult, but I’ve been through so much more than the average adult and have taken […]
Read moreBy Cindy Chen
September 11, 2018
In mid-July, a few weeks ago, my friend and fellow PYO (Partners for Youth Opportunity) student, Tyee Meek, and I biked from Chapel Hill to the Outer Banks — a distance totaling over 700 miles — with Triangle Bikeworks. Triangle Bikeworks is an organization that promotes youth leadership development through biking. Our bike tour […]
Read moreBy Katie Rice
April 11, 2018
As a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, I often find myself stuck in the “Chapel Hill bubble,” the detached environment of privilege and academia surrounding my campus. I go to class with people who, for the most part, look like me and have had a lot of the same experiences as me. It is easy for […]
Read moreBy Maria Elena Vizcaino
My dad has lived in the United States for the past 10 years. He doesn’t speak a word of English. That’s why back in January, when my professor suggested The VOICE publish articles in Spanish, I didn’t hesitate before committing to translate our content. Like my dad, thousands of immigrants in this country decide to […]
Read moreBy Zayrha Rodriguez
February 28, 2018
As a woman, an immigrant from Colombia and a college student pursuing a career in journalism, I feel that I am under constant attack by the current U.S. administration. Often recently, I have felt the need to call out our administration and elected officials. But I keep myself from doing it. I wonder how much […]
Read moreBy Nafisa Shah and Tyee Meek
The VOICE recently had the opportunity to have a conversation with Bob Ashley, the former editor of Durham’s The Herald-Sun and recently retired a little over six months ago. Ashley worked for newspapers for over 50 years and gave us an insider’s view of the journalism industry. He started working with the newspaper in […]
Read moreBy LaMon Jones
February 6, 2018
Let’s talk about race. Race, in its basic definition, is “a social construct” created to separate people by the way they look. Racism has not always existed simply because race itself hasn’t always been a part of society. These two things and many more are facts I learned at an REI (Racial Equity Institute) […]
Read moreBy Qaadir McFadden
January 31, 2018
Imagine this: The game is tied with two seconds on the clock, and coach calls his last full timeout. He draws up a play to kick the basketball out to one of the two shooters on the court. When the timeout is up, the girls come onto the floor to run the play that […]
Read moreBy Jock Lauterer
December 6, 2017
Editor’s Note: Lu Xu is a 10-year veteran Chinese broadcast journalist who, for the last two years, has been studying communications at the UNC-CH School of Media and Journalism, where she is a visiting international scholar. In her final semester at Chapel Hill, she joined the MEJO 459 “Community Journalism” class and became a […]
Read moreBy Nafisa Shah
October 3, 2017
This summer I had the opportunity to attend the Chuck Stone Program at School of Media and Journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. The program was started in 2007 for seniors in high school and honors the legacy of Professor Emeritus Charles “Chuck” Stone. Stone was a Tuskegee Airman during World War II and a prominent […]
Read moreBy Jock Lauterer
September 23, 2017
As the Durham VOICE enters its ninth year, when I look back in mind’s eye rear-view-mirror, the thing I see is not the 42 print editions or the hundreds of online versions of our paper. I see faces. For if there’s anything we’ve learned over the years, it’s that community journalism – that all-in, relentlessly […]
Read moreBy Jock Lauterer
August 28, 2017
Editor’s Note: It’s early in the new fall semester, but already young student reporters at NCCU have opinions on the events at Charlottesville and Durham. These comments come from Professor Lisa Paulin’s journalism class, which also contributes content to the Durham VOICE. Depending on how you look at it, both sides can be […]
Read moreBy Nafisa Shah
August 27, 2017
You may have already heard, but on a Monday in early August a group of protesters pulled down the statue of a Confederate soldier that stood outside the old Durham County courthouse. The statue, the Confederate Soldiers Monument, was dedicated to the county of Durham in May, 1924. Engraved in the statute are […]
Read moreBy Linda Chen
April 20, 2017
Think about a landfill. Can you imagine living within five miles of one? Imagine the smells during the summer and the big trucks filled with trash barreling down the streets. Think about the sour-smelling brown water coming from water sources like sinks and bathtubs. Environmental injustice or even environmental racism includes the placement of […]
Read moreBy LaMon Jones
April 16, 2017
Before I entered PYO two years ago, I had the reputation at school of being unmotivated and lazy. One day I got suspended from school for a week — and luckily got sent to a great program called “Rebound,” which helped me keep up with my schoolwork while out of classes. Once I finished […]
Read moreBy Molly Smith
April 5, 2017
The second I set foot inside Meals on Wheels of Durham, I was immediately greeted with an air filled by the smell of sizzling hamburgers, the sound of animated chit-chat and the sight of dozens of smiling faces. After hearing about President Trump’s proposed budget cuts that endanger thousands of local Meals on Wheels agencies […]
Read moreBy Jock Lauterer
April 3, 2017
Editor’s Note: Following a recent incident near their high school, the Hillside Chronicle staffers of Hillside High School received some negative comments via social media about their school. Anonymous, of course. In response, the staff elected to write “Dear Durham” letters, aided by UNC-CH students from the Durham VOICE mentoring team which has worked with […]
Read moreBy Carlton Koonce
March 20, 2017
Opportunities. Not handouts. When you think about it, it’s really not too much to ask. A chance to work and to prove one’s self worth. A chance to get into a good college. A chance to land a job or start a business that provides for a family. A chance to live a safe, […]
Read moreBy Veronika Payne
March 9, 2017
Social media has a profound effect on society. From the way we dress to the way we speak social media takes its toll. Stalking, pornography, and school yard fights all dangers you run across while on social media. There has even been an increase in live streaming suicides among teen social media users. The […]
Read moreBy LaMon Jones
February 7, 2017
Being the editor of the Durham Voice is not a role you can just joke around with. You’re in charge of a monthly column, and although that may not seem like much, it’s more than most think. Depending on what you have going on in life, some months may be easy and others not […]
Read moreBy Linda Chen
February 6, 2017
It’s Friday morning at 9:57 a.m. and the stress is real. Friends are discussing colleges, while I sit believing I’ve got the college stress under control. Still, that does not mean there is no stress for me. After overhearing the talk and stress concerning colleges among classmates, I feel it is time to share […]
Read moreBy Linda Chen
December 4, 2016
Growing up, I always felt different. I always entertained myself alone. Played alone and read alone. I was a huge daydreamer and a helpless romantic. I loved to play doctor, school teacher or the mom going into the hospital because she’s having a child. It was just something I always effortlessly did. My story […]
Read moreBy LaMon Jones
November 11, 2016
The 2016 election has been a rollercoaster ride of insults, hate speech, sexism and racism. The Clinton campaign versus the Trump campaign will go down in history as one of the nastiest battles in politics. The career politician Hillary Clinton battled it out with one of the most iconic businessmen of the modern era, […]
Read moreBy Nafisa Shah
November 10, 2016
On Wednesday, Nov. 2, I had the opportunity to see President Obama give one of his last speeches as sitting President at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Throughout the day there were several speakers such as Deborah Ross, Roy Cooper, James Taylor and an UNC advocate for the Clinton campaign. […]
Read moreBy Nafisa Shah
October 23, 2016
Playing tennis for Hillside High School since my freshman year has taught me much. Now a senior, I can see how the sport has developed me as a person. Tennis this year started off with only a few returning players from last year’s team. I got involved my 9th grade year because my parents […]
Read moreBy Heng Su
October 5, 2016
Editor’s Note: The writer is an international exchange student from the University of Hong Kong. The United States was born as an open country. From the Pacific to the Atlantic, and from Chapel Hill to Durham, up until recently walls between communities have been a rarity. Take a drive into Northeast Central Durham on […]
Read moreBy LaMon Jones
September 22, 2016
There is a level of perception when it comes to community colleges that they are not as good as four-year schools. I decided to question one of my long-time friends who just started a semester at Durham Tech about the school in general and its level of education. My first impression about places on […]
Read moreBy Natasha Graham
May 20, 2016
I have experienced a lot of disappointment in my 18 years on this earth. These disappointments have been brought on by a number of factors: difficult situations, other people and myself. I was very isolated as a child, and I didn’t have many friends because of my lack of human interaction. But I’m not […]
Read moreBy Natasha Graham
April 3, 2016
On March 8, 2016, at about 10:30 p.m., young Northern Knight, David Pounds, was shot by someone from a passing vehicle on the 1400 block of Maplewood Drive and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. He was 15 years old. Now, I didn’t know David personally, but we did attend the same school. […]
Read moreBy Natasha Graham
February 11, 2016
I personally try not to judge people as much as I can, because honestly, I don’t think it’s my place to do so. I figure, who am I to say whether or not something is “right” or “good enough” when everyone has a different definition of that? So, on the few occasions when I […]
Read moreBy Christian Lawrence
October 20, 2015
During the 2014-2015 school year, I have heard students talked about how early they had to get up, saying that most mornings they’re too tired to do school work.
Read moreBy Kristine Royster
September 30, 2015
Most teenagers don’t care about what members of the city council do or say, however there are 32 youth that do care. The Durham Youth Commission (DYC) is a city-funded council composed of 30 high school aged teens. This commission gives teens the opportunity to have a formal role in the city’s planning. The Durham […]
Read moreBy Bruce Wilkerson
September 29, 2015
Pretty much everybody has heard of Beyonce, but do you know about the only male dancers that are associated with her, Les Twins? As a young African-American dancer. I look up to these two people for many reasons, but primarily because of how they grew up dancing. Their family is a dancing musical family […]
Read moreBy Natasha Graham
September 22, 2015
When did it become OK to say the “N-Word”? Recently, I’ve asked myself this question a lot, and started wondering about the origin of the word, the meaning of it and just how much it has changed in popular culture lately. Personally, as a young African-American woman, I try never to use the word. Yet, […]
Read moreBy Brooklynn Cooper
April 22, 2015
Editor’s Note: Graduating Northern High School senior Brooklynn Cooper has been serving with distinction as this year’s Teen Editor-in-Chief of the Durham VOICE. For her final column of her high school career, she leaves us all with a lesson in authenticity) Limits are disliked by the majority of the human race. We are constantly […]
Read moreBy Jennifer Tietnguyen
March 4, 2015
It wasn’t until my junior year of high school that I realized college was a thing. As a first-generation Vietnamese-American student, I did not grow up with a family instilling in me the hopes to be a Tar Heel born, bred and dead. I didn’t think about post-high school plans, didn’t watch Gilmore Girls and […]
Read moreBy Brooklynn Cooper
February 23, 2015
People always say “laughter is the best medicine,” which is true, unless people are laughing at the expense of someone’s feelings. In today’s society, it is common to try to ease pain and discomfort by cracking a joke, but laughter should not have to be a defense mechanism. Last month, the hashtag “#BrownParts” blew up […]
Read moreBy Christian Frazier
February 19, 2015
In the course of attending schools in Durham, I’ve become accustomed to African-Americans making up a majority of students in my classes. According to the latest census information, Durham County has a population that is 38.7 percent African-American, 13.5 percent Hispanic/Latino, 4.8 percent Asian and 1 percent Native American. Honestly, growing up I was never […]
Read moreBy Dylan Howlett
December 3, 2014
A story of greater consciousness, of a longer social antenna, begins, rather morbidly, with an entombed pharaoh. The credit for this haphazard beginning lies with Gwendolyn Payne, a 16-year-old junior at Durham’s Hillside High School. She interns at The Durham VOICE on behalf of Partners for Youth Opportunity, a nonprofit mentorship program that extends academic […]
Read moreBy Caitlin Ball
November 12, 2014
Editor’s Note: Staff writer Caitlin Ball was one of the photographers participating in the Oct. 10 Project Homeless Connect Durham event in which VOICE photographers made portraits for 55 people attending the support event at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. After spending the better part of the day meeting, talking to and photographing many Durham residents […]
Read moreBy LaMon Jones
November 10, 2014
The purpose of suspensions is to take a student out of an environment where a problem was caused or a problem is brewing. The goal of a modern school is to keep a child in a structured learning environment at all cost. The idea of suspension is the exact opposite of what schools try to […]
Read moreBy Brooklynn Cooper
November 2, 2014
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Thanksgiving? Most people think of turkey, ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and other popular fixings. Food is one of the highlights of Thanksgiving, but some people have become so caught up in what is on their plates that they have forgotten […]
Read moreBy Gwendolynn Payne
October 31, 2014
I am Gwendolynn Payne, and I am 16-years-old and a junior at Hillside High School. I enjoy history and science classes over any other classes I have. I gained an interest in archaeology during my freshman year while taking a World History class. We had to do an end of the year project on a […]
Read moreBy Christian Frazier
October 20, 2014
When I first moved to Durham I was young and lived on Liberty Street. It was interesting. Growing up I noticed drug dealers, streetwalkers and gang bangers and I realized that was not the life for me. As the years go by I began to notice how food brings people together and it changes lives. […]
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