Mona Baloch
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  • Writing
  • News Gathering
  • Design
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  • Reflection
  • Leadership & Team Building
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NEWS GATHERING

Centerfold: "The Price of Privilege" 

Published Nov. 6, 2015 (32-4) — by Mona Baloch and Emily Belt
Ninth place Best of Show at NSPA 2015
VIEW "ThE PRICE OF PRIVILEGE" IN THE ROAR
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This is by far my favorite article I've written for The Roar. Finding sources  was difficult because of the delicate nature of the topic: economic privilege. I was turned down by many school officials and students. We really pushed for school-specific anecdotes, which required a multiple anonymous interviews, but we balanced them well with other sources and interviews. 
The average price of a home in Newton is $865,300, nearly five times the national average of $182,500.

“I can speak from personal experience [and say] that …  it’s very difficult as a single income individual teaching in Newton to, for example, buy a home anywhere within a 45-minute commute of this area,” Spanish teacher Stephanie Pavao said. “If that’s something that’s affecting a teacher here, then I can imagine that it also affects the students here.” Read more

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Centerfold: "Licensed to Drink"

​Published April 17, 2015 — by Mona Baloch
Read "Licensed to drink" in the roar
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"Licensed to Drink" was my first article as a Senior Section Editor of Centerfold. I did not have a coeditor at the time, so I had to jump right into this very sensitive piece on my own. When I was sitting in the library one day, I heard some friends talking about a fake ID distributor they knew, and I was able to get her information and conduct an anonymous interview with her. This was my first taste of real investigative journalism. 
Last month, senior Dylan* and 14 of his friends gathered to place an online order for a batch of fake IDs. “We had a friend of mine who is a very good photographer take her expensive camera, and we stood in front of a blank white wall,” he said. “She took pictures of us from the waist up and just followed their guidelines: no hair covering the face, standing [up] straight.” 

 The teenagers then prepared their signatures and relevant personal information before scanning everything and sending the materials to a service based in China. Read more 
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