Humans of the Dub: Meet the Staff! Veronica Wernicke, News Editor

What about The Seahawk drew you in to start writing for them?

“Growing up and in high school, I always knew I wanted to write for the newspaper. Going into my freshman year at UNCW, I was Googling what their student newspaper was. I sent The Seahawk a message and they responded really quickly. I felt that if I wanted to continue doing what I loved this was the place.”

 

As the News Editor, what are your duties and responsibilities? Give us a look into your day-to-day routine.

“As News Editor, I help to provide news pertaining to what’s happening on-campus, around campus, in Wilmington, and the rest of the world. We’re focused and committed to giving our audience the most accurate news needed to make informed decisions. My day-to-day looks like reading the local and national news. I also like to go through my emails to see what information is being put out into the community. For example, the other day, we got an email about UNCW’s new housing policy. Even though people may be able to view it from their email, it’s still something worth writing about. The new housing policy isn’t going to just affect UNCW students. It’s going to affect their friends and people that live in Wilmington. Looking at what’s happening around us both locally and all the way out into the grand scale of the world is extremely important.”

 

What’s the News Section doing to ensure that UNCW students are getting the most accurate, reliable, and unbiased news?

“Staying informed, looking at what’s going on everyday and trying to pull from multiple news sources is what helps to keep the facts straight. Being aware of what is going on, zoning in on what people need to know about, why they should care is something the news section values.”

 

What is your favorite article that you’ve written and a favorite article that you’ve read?

“My favorite opinion piece that I’ve authored is an Opinion piece I wrote last year. It was about Victoria’s Secret and their treatment towards the transgendered community. That article got a lot of really good buzz and I thought it was an important piece that needed to be out. Up until recently, you haven’t really heard about their [transgendered people] stories. They haven’t been getting the news coverage they should be getting. They are an important group of people that need to be better understood. My favorite story that I’ve read is the editorial that we wrote for the Black Lives Matter Movement. It was an important piece that needed to be put out. I’m glad that we, at The Seahawk, were vigilant and quick on putting out a cohesive message on how we feel about this issue. I think it was well-written.”

 

What one thing about UNCW/Wilmington that you’ve missed since being home?

“Well, I live in Wilmington, so one thing that I missed about UNCW were my friends. A lot of them don’t live in Wilmington, so come summertime and COVID, we haven’t had that in-person interaction. I really missed having girls’ night and my core group of friends. We can do something over zoom, but it’s not quite the same. We can’t go out and get drinks. We can’t go out and get fondue. I’ve definitely missed my girl time.”