Oona Goodin-Smith

Editor-in-Chief, The Oakland Post

Rochester, MI

"Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here." - Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent, editor-in-chief of The Oakland Post, storyteller always.

Oona Goodin-Smith

Editor-in-Chief, The Oakland Post

Rochester, MI

Featured
Voices: Who is calling the shots on the measles vaccination?
To light up or not to light up? The year was 1994 and it was a personal choice to smoke in a restaurant, bar or enclosed workplace. Sure, a surgeon general’s warning appeared on cigarette cartons, lawsuits and research on the negative effects of smoking swarmed the media, but it was still an individual’s choice to puff in public.
Featured
Students believe Obama's free college proposal shows promise
Christian Jones won the lottery — a genetic lottery, of sorts. Born with a college instructor for a father, he was given a rare gift: two free years of community college at his father’s employer, Saint Clair County Community College in Port Huron, Mich. Transferring to Oakland University in 2012 to complete his bachelor’s degree in communication, Jones entered OU with an Associate of the Arts degree and transfer credits in tow, all completely free of charge.
Featured
Scholar sophomore dies after week in allergy-induced coma
“No matter the time or where he was, he would come to my side,” freshman Julia Douglas said about her close friend, Chandler Swink, an OU sophomore, Huntington Ford scholar and aspiring nursing student. Tonight, the Swink family asks that the Oakland University community be at their side as they decide whether to take their 19-year-old son, brother, cousin and nephew off of life support.
The Oakland Post, Oakland University
Featured
Editorial: Students pay for OU's secrecy
The fall semester begins in one week, and along with the usual scramble for books and supplies, this year, Oakland University student employees may also be clambering for funds in response to the quick and seemingly unexplained reduction of student employee hours. Until recently, students employed through the university were permitted to work 25 hours each week during the fall and winter semesters.
The Oakland Post, Oakland University
Viewpoint: Guns miss the mark in sexual violence prevention
Move over #TheDress, there’s a new debate packing heat: should college students be able to bring their guns to school? While the carrying of concealed firearms on campus is banned in 41 states by law or university policy, this year lawmakers in some states are preparing legislation that would give college students the option of carrying a concealed weapon on campus.
Family encourages students to beat disease, get heart screenings
“It’s often said that the first symptom is their last,” says Lisa Pardington, mother of the late Max Pardington and co-founder of the Live Like Max Foundation. “It’s a silent killer.”. At 6’5”, 220 pounds and having recently completed a Tough Mudder obstacle race, the 20-year-old was “the picture of health,” according to his mother.
Loving in shades of grey: Navigating the casual relationship
Placebo guitarist Brian Molko once said “I believe very strongly that when it comes to desire, when it comes to attraction, that things are never black and white — things are very much shades of grey.”. According to the Toledo Adolescent Relationship Study, this Valentine’s Day, 67% of 21-year-olds will be celebrating love in these shades of grey — minus the BDSM of the popular movie.
SOTU simplified: Top 4 takeaways for college students
Via 2.6 million tweets and countless live broadcasts and YouTube streams last night, a tech-savvy America watched as President Obama delivered his 2015 State of the Union (SOTU) address to a Republican-controlled Congress. “I know, because I won both of them,” the president cheekily responded to scattered claps in the audience after stating that he “had no more campaigns to run,” a top-tweeted moment of the night.
Heart of gold, legacy of courage: Remembering Bassam Issa
Bassam Issa of Sterling Heights, a veteran, friend, family man, and criminal justice student, died Sunday night as a result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash. He was 27. “I just talked to him last week,” said OU Veterans Liaison and friend of Bassam, Bradley Reichelt. “He’d just finished his internship at the Oakland County Correctional Facility and said it was one of the coolest things he’s done.”.
The Oakland Post, Oakland University
The face of change: Newly-appointed OU President George Hynd pushes for sense of community
Hynd said he is at the point of making a list of things he'd like to do in the next 120 days. At the top of that list, he said, is to connect with and learn more about the faculty, who are "the way that we connect to the students". One interim presidency, two semesters, three open forums, and 385 days after Gary Russi retired last July, all Golden Grizzly eyes are on George Hynd as he steps into the spotlight, officially beginning his term as Oakland University’s sixth president on August 20.
The Oakland Post, Oakland University
Editorial: Searching in the dark for OU's new pres
After nearly 10 months of waiting since former Oakland University President Gary Russi resigned from the position following an 18-year reign, the word is finally out on OU’s new president. Since forming the Ad Hoc Presidential Search Committee and approving R. William Funk & Associates as the official presidential search firm in December 2013, the Oakland University Board of Trustees has held three public meetings and an untold number of private meetings, interviewing and pursuing contenders to be the next leader of the Golden Grizzlies.
The Oakland Post, Oakland University
Who Killed Hannah Montana: The Plight of the Disney Female
Published in Sprinkle: An undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies, Vol. 7. First place, Extended Research Paper Category, OU Department of Communication and Journalism 2014 Undergraduate Showcase
Oakland University Department of Communication and Journalism
Awards

About

Oona Goodin-Smith

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Hi, I'm Oona.

I'm a communication and journalism dual major in the Honors College at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, with a passion for innovation and plans to graduate in May 2016.

I currently write weekly for USA TODAY as a collegiate correspondent where my work has appeared on the USA TODAY homepage, Detroit Free Press, St. Paul/Minneapolis Kare 11 News and Gannett publications across the country.

Since May 2014, I have served as editor-in-chief of The Oakland Post, Oakland University's weekly independent student newspaper. Located in the suburbs of metro Detroit, Oakland is rapidly-expanding state school of approximately 20,000. As editor-in-chief, I supervise a staff of 40 reporters, photographers, distributors, advertising, and copy and section editors while writing, editing, and overseeing the content and production of our paper, website, and social media accounts.

During my time as editor, The Post has covered the search and selection of Oakland University's new president, other administrative changes, student death, and visits from former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea (not together).

Formerly, I worked as an intern for DTE Energy's Corporate Communications where I wrote, edited, compiled contributions, paginated, and created the template for Talking Points, a weekly newsletter read by over 3,000 employees in the Fortune 500 company's Distribution department. During my time with DTE, I also created and implemented the "Supervisor Spotlight" profile column in order to increase readership and highlight the achievements of some of the plant leaders.

In the summer of 2014, my critical cultural communication research on Disney women titled "Who Killed Hannah Montana: The Plight of the Disney Female" was published in Sprinkle: An Undergraduate Journal of Feminist and Queer Studies (link below). The essay also won first place in Oakland University's 2014 Communication and Journalism Undergraduate Showcase in the "extended research" category and I was chosen as the only undergraduate student to present my work during the department's 2014 Fall Speaker Series.

I am comfortable in Adobe InDesign and expanding my knowledge of Photoshop and the world of photography.

In my free time, I enjoy running and just completed my first full marathon. I also like playing piano, writing poetry, going on road trips and being with family and friends.

Want to know more? Feel free to email me at oegoodin@oakland.edu.

Curious about the photo at the top of the page? That's me interviewing Oakland University's sixth President George Hynd on his plans for his new administration.

Link to my published essay:
Who Killed Hannah Montana: The Plight of the Disney Female, published in Sprinkle (2014):
http://freireproject.org/wp-content/journals/sprinkle/Sprinkle_vol7.pdf