Roundup: The best college coverage of last week’s tragedies

The violence of the past week shook the country — and the aftershocks are still reverberating. After the shootings of two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, by police officers, protests erupted around the nation. One ended in the death of five police officers in Dallas.

Media outlets have scrambled to cover these events live, as well as publish opinions and thinkpieces to further the conversation. And even with typically smaller summer staffs, college publications have stepped up their coverage of these national events. Here’s a roundup of the best social media posts, videos, articles and more by Associated Collegiate Press members.

UT Arlington’s The Shorthorn provided constant updates on the situation in Dallas through Twitter, retweeting news outlets and individuals as well as their own content. By curating informative content and providing their own articles, The Shorthorn made itself a consistently helpful and knowledgeable news source for its audience.

In addition, the staff produced multiple articles on the incident, including one striking article about community reactions to the tragedy. Without any editorial commentary, the article is simply a list of quotes from both prominent and ordinary members of the campus and the nation. The bare structure is quite effective; it represents a thoughtful variety of voices and perspectives, and lets readers focus on the emotion of the situation.

The Minnesota Daily staff — from the University of Minnesota — put together a simple, straightforward video documenting a protest in St. Paul, where community members gathered to honor Castile before marching to the Minnesota governor’s mansion. Without any voiceover, each short clip stands on its own, allowing viewers to get a complete picture of what happened at the gathering.

Though located across the country, the New Mexico Daily Lobo participated in the nationwide coverage with a photo slideshow capturing images of a local protest on July 7. The sharp images capture the scope and intensity of the march.

The University of Pittsburgh’s The Pitt News took advantage of Facebook Live, opting to stream the Pittsburgh protest in addition to posting an accompanying article. The staff added to their coverage by posting photos and information on Twitter.

The GW Hatchet, located in Washington, D.C., was able to add national perspective while documenting a local event. Thirteen members of Congress spoke to protesters at a D.C. event—and the reporter captured the chaos and conflict that followed.

Protest draws members of Congress out of the Capitol

The Xavier Herald took the opportunity to put a positive spin on the week’s events. The Louisiana-based student publication created an optimistic conversation with its Twitter followers, asking for users to respond with something good that happened to them. Even though it’s not news coverage, we appreciate the Xavier Herald’s effort to support its audience.

The Auburn Plainsman created a simple video of Auburn University’s Black Student Union Memoriam Demonstration. Using a mixture of video and still photographs, the video captures two emotional speeches and allows viewers to feel as if they participated.