Student Newspaper

Their smiling faces in black and white photographs posted on a Facebook page give no hint of the tragedy that claimed their lives. Mary Louise Downs was described as having a beautiful voice. She had a strong interest in foreign languages and often helped other students with their work. The student newspaper at Williamsport High School said that Virginia Myers was a “reliable and generous friend,” was very gifted in music and played the piano and violin. Pearl Emerson, president of the junior class at Williamsport High School, was described on the Facebook page as a “very intelligent girl” who excelled in Latin, French and English.

My career in newspapers began during some soul searching as a confused college sophomore. I had taken classes in a number of courses, trying to find a major that suited my interests and skills. First, there was physical education, then it was on to education, then to business. None fit. All the while, the academic clock was ticking while my savings account was dwindling. I was just as confused about what I wanted to do with my life as I was on the day I entered. Yet I needed to make a decision.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland football team was already walking a tightrope when the season started. The Terrapins were trying to balance the strengths of returning skill players with the talents of unproven quarterback Jordan Steffy. Last week's first performance was successful in a 31-14 win over Villanova. But now, the Terps' high-wire act gets a tad more difficult. Maryland is now working without a net. The Terps anticipated for Steffy to share time behind center with Josh Portis, a player coach Ralph Friedgen planned to look to in certain situations because of his explosive play-making ability.

When I was in high school and college, I knew a fair number of people who wanted to become doctors, dentists and pharmacists. One thing stood between them and their dream, an undergraduate course called organic chemistry. As I understood it, passing organic chemistry was mandatory for admission to medical and pharmacy school. I have no idea what organic chemistry is. I was smart enough to know my academic limitations and avoided those courses like I now avoid the Capital Beltway.

A few short takes on a Sunday morning: Digital marketing: On April 22 at The Plaza Hotel, The Herald-Mail will sponsor four one-hour workshops about the Internet and how to use it as an effective marketing medium. In part, this is in response to conversations with more than 150 of our advertisers during the past 15 months. The Internet, along with its often dazzling yet baffling array of tools, is one of the most frequent topics of conversation during my conversations with advertisers.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Florence Marston doesn't want recognition for what she did as a Women Airforce Service pilot. "All I did was to fly a couple of airplanes," said the Clinton, Md., woman. But others find what she and about 1,100 other women did during World War II a pretty amazing feat. The women risked their lives in the new field of flight -- and broke gender barriers in the process -- to train glider pilots and ferry military equipment. Soon they might get their hard-won recognition -- whether they sought it or not. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.

When I was in high school and college, I knew a fair number of people who wanted to become doctors, dentists and pharmacists. One thing stood between them and their dream, an undergraduate course called organic chemistry. As I understood it, passing organic chemistry was mandatory for admission to medical and pharmacy school. I have no idea what organic chemistry is. I was smart enough to know my academic limitations and avoided those courses like I now avoid the Capital Beltway.

o If you like reading Tim Rowland, you'll love watching him. See what else Tim has to say Thirty years ago, acting out of a sense of duty that probably only he could articulate, U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd appeared at the offices of West Virginia University's student newspaper to meet with me and two other beer-swilling, borderline-anarchist editors. The offices at the time were in an old, two-story house that, to my knowledge, was never cleaned. And if anyone who happened to work there uttered a marginally witty line, someone would invariably whip the cap off of a magic marker and write the phrase straight onto the wall.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Veteran reporter and commentator Daniel Schorr, whose hard-hitting reporting for CBS got him on President Richard Nixon's notorious "enemies list" in the 1970s, has died. He was 93. Schorr died Friday at a Washington hospital after a brief illness, said Anna Christopher, a spokeswoman for National Public Radio, where Schorr continued to work as a senior news analyst and commentator. Schorr's career of more than six decades spanned the spectrum of journalism -- beginning in print, then moving to television where he spent 23 years with CBS News and ending with NPR. He also wrote several books, including his memoir, "Staying Tuned: A Life in Journalism.