Nov. 1, 2004
By Marisa Long
Living out most young reporters' dreams, Nick Juliano, a senior journalism major, recently spoke with presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry during his visit to southern Ohio on Oct. 16. According to an Oct. 8 article in The Cincinnati Enquirer, Juliano "may be the only student journalist in the country to get an interview with either presidential candidate, campaign officials say."
Traveling through Wakefield, Ohio, on the campaign bus, Juliano, who is the special projects senior writer for Ohio University's student-run newspaper, The Post, had the opportunity to question the presidential hopeful on a topic important to college-aged voters - the draft. Juliano reported in an article published in the Oct. 18 edition of The Post, that "the senator backed off his original assertion that there was a 'great potential' for a draft under Bush" while speaking to reporters on the bus.
"What I said was it's possible because I don't know what he's going to do," Kerry responded.
The senator was also questioned on whether or not he thought President Bush lied in the first debate. Juliano reported Kerry "dodged the question" by responding, "We're not going to have a draft as long as I'm president."
Juliano's interview gained him national attention according to the journal Editor and Publisher. Juliano's stepfather, Mark Clinton, says his son's motivation and hard work combined with a little luck got him a spot on the bus.
"We're really proud mainly because he went out and did all this on his own," Clinton says. "He got the contacts, did the networking and asked intelligent questions to get to this level."
Juliano spent this past summer interning with the Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C. He attended both the Democrat and Republican national conventions as a Scripps media representative.
"The education at Ohio University provides the opportunities to have access to these types of experiences," Clinton says. "Nick's accomplishments speak highly for the journalism school. And the university really prepares students for their future career - and in Nick's case - moving forward on a national level."
Marisa Long is a writer with Communications and Marketing.
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