Month: July 2026

By Allie Harrison

The Greene Team began on Monday, July 27, with a captivating lecture by a journalist who reported on the 1970s Watergate scandal and witnessed the field of journalism evolve. 

Dini Diskin-Zimmerman, a broadcast journalist who has been in the field for decades, spoke to the group about her wealth of experience in a changing — yet also constant — profession. 

She told about how in the past, news stations used two-inch tape to record, and they manually cut out pieces to edit them. Now, we use computers for the same task. Before, the cameras and lights were enormous, but now, they are small and compact. However, the way news is reported hasn’t changed one bit. Good reporters still strive to remain unbiased, they still state the most important things first, and they still have the constant role of updating the public on the occurrences of the world.

Zimmerman also shared another part of her interesting past with the Greene Team: she was a crucial part of increasing women’s equality in the workplace. When she started out at one of her earliest jobs, she was the only woman there, among a host of white men. They needed to hire women to support DEI, and she not only fit that requirement, but she was exceptionally good at reporting. Throughout her career, more and more women started working with her.

Later on, George Giokas delivered a presentation on the immense importance of local and school newspapers.

Giokas told the group that three quarters of those in New York City don’t have newspapers, which is problematic because students don’t get information about their communities, and young writers aren’t exposed to this vital profession.

Additionally, there has been a large decline in local newspapers throughout the country. In the past 20 years, the nation has lost approximately 3,500 newspapers. Now, over 210 counties have no local news sources at all.

News sources are essential for public information and even participation. In fact, less people tend to vote when they lack newspapers. Thankfully, Long Island still has over 150 community newspapers, which serve mainly on the village level.

As Giokas put it, “You lose your identity when you lose your local newspaper.” That is why journalism is essential, and the Greene Team plans to make a contribution to it.

Today, I arrived pretty damn late to the scene. We did see some deer when entering, though, which was nice. My mom and dad accompanied me while unpacking my room. They snapped a few photos of me in the dorm room for memories, and hugged me goodbye.

I was initially very nervous. I had to introduce myself to everyone since I was late. I’m kinda shy; it went fine, though. I reconnected with my profile partner and we hit it off over time. It’s pleasant to have a buddy.

In the Stony Brook newsroom, we learned about different types of blogs and how to write our own! I experimented with images and captions. Afterwards, I was starving, so we went right to the cafeteria! For dinner, I accidentally got way too much ice cream, but it was still tasty nonetheless.

It was a great first day as a new Greene Team member!

Today, July 26, 2026, was the first of my six days at the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalist. Even though I hadn’t packed until the very last minute, I managed to get all my clothing, electronics, snacks, water, bedding, hygiene and bathroom products, and camera set up in my duffel bag before I left home. Luckily, where I’m from, Brentwood, isn’t too far from Stony Brook, so I was able to arrive within 40 minutes of leaving home and have my parents wish me a farewell around 3 p.m.

Today we participated in a few activities to kick off what will be a busy set of weekdays filled with workshops, lectures, projects, and trips. We reviewed the schedule for the week, got a short presentation by housing, and did a few icebreakers — including discussing what journalistic work we are most proud of so far — all in the downstairs lounge at Hendrix Hall. From there, we went to the newsroom, where we got an introduction to the Greene Gazette website where we would be posting blogs (like this one!) over the next couple of days. Dinner, which consisted of burgers, beef and rice, mac & cheese, and a dessert of an ice cream cone was definitely solid and marked the end to today’s schedule.

While today the lightest of the next six following days, Stony Brook has already proven to be an incredible experience. The most exciting part of my introduction to Stony Brook, by far, has been the dorm-room experience. Me, Parker, Myles, Noah, and Greg are sharing a suite on the second floor of Hendrix Hall, with myself and Myles sharing room C with our respective beds and desks. Although my setup is on the simpler side, I’ve been able to get myself pretty comfortable in my belongings and prepare myself for the projects we will be doing starting tomorrow!

By May Bar
Hendrick Hudson High School

Many people get homesick when being away for a period of time. However, I’m not that type of person.

Moving-in day at Stony Brook University was exciting for me, as I love experiencing new things.

As a student journalist and the editor-in-chief of my school newspaper, I was intrigued when my paper’s advisor sent me this program. The thing I became most excited for was to gain more experience in journalism as well as socializing with other people who have a common interest with me.

Once I arrived on campus and settled in my room, I was very happy to find out that Angie is in the same suite as me! She and I both connected at the orientation — and that connection didn’t go away.

I am very happy to continue to meet all of these new people and start my journey this week at Stony Brook. I hope the rest of the week will develop my skills and my interests.

By Gregory Valestin
Brooklyn Technical High School

So… I packed up a whole ton of stuff and hauled it almost 50 miles east to Stony Brook University to attend the Greene Institute.

Almost immediately after setting up shop in my dorm room and saying goodbye to my mom and siblings, I was shuffled down to a meeting where we all did some icebreakers and learned our schedule. We then headed to the newsroom, where we were introduced to this website where we’ll be posting blogs daily for the rest of our time here.

And after that, we went to the cafeteria and boy were there options. Burgers, rice, mac and cheese. And don’t get me started on the desserts! Cupcakes, crumb cake, and donuts! Man, I’m going to be stoked eating here for five days.

And finally, after we ate, we were given a briefing on how to behave on the campus and were sent back up to our dorms, where I currently am writing this. This is shaping up to be an exciting, educational, and memorable experience, and I’m already hitting it off with my roommates!

See you tomorrow. God bless, Greg.

By Haru Dukanac
Eastchester High School

Today in the afternoon, I arrived at Stony Brook University. Check-in at Hendrix Hall was smooth and orientation was short and sweet.

I started talking to other people on the walk to the newsroom, including people who I recognized from the orientation in June. By the time we were in the newsroom, everyone was talking to someone.

The schedule for the rest of the days in this program isn’t memorized in my head yet, but I’m looking forward to immersing myself more in the journalism field for this following week!

By Allie Harrison
Ward Melville High School

Sunday, July 26, was the first day of the 2026 Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalism program. It was also the first time I’ve visited Stony Brook University’s campus, despite living only 15 minutes away. 

My first impression was certainly a positive one. Right next to Hendrix Hall, where the dorms are located, is a scenic pond with ducks and geese. Throughout the campus, green spaces with vibrant trees and plants abound. A stone-paved path between buildings leads to a glistening water fountain. All of these details seem to give Stony Brook a feeling of being surrounded by nature, despite being situated near a busier town. 

Walking around campus was pleasant, but will hardly be the most exciting experience of the program. Writing, learning, and exploring activities are soon to come!

By Noah Eichenholtz
Hendrick Hudson High School

The first day here at the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists was full of information and fun!

I started off the day at around 2:30 p.m. by checking into my room in the A dorm. I was lucky enough to get the only single in my suite, so that was a great start to my experience. At 3, we then moved down to the lounge area for a fun card game, some get-to-know-you questions, and finally a presentation from the housing department on living in the dorms.

After this, we moved into the newsroom, where we got acquainted with the computers and the Greene Gazette website. Following this we had dinner, a quick chat with our chaperones to meet them better and hear some more rules, and then we headed back to our dorms to finish off the night.

This first day has made me super excited for the rest of the week and eager to wake up tomorrow to start the learning!

By Parker Silberman
Longwood High School

Our first day started with a quick unpacking followed by a longer-than-expected wait. The team took no time to get right into learning. The opening presentations were informative and we learned how to log into the website we’d be using for the next week. The walks back and forth from the buildings were relaxing, and once settled in the day was over before I knew it.