Why should I contribute news to Ram Life?

• Ram Life is emailed to all currently enrolled Wesleyan students. 
• Share upcoming events and important information with the entire student body.
• Alerts Student Life of your news and events, which may lead to further promotion through multiple channels, including social media.

How do I submit a news story or event to Ram Life?

News and events for Ram Life are submitted through Terminal 4 (T4), the University's content management system. If you would like to contribute web content for your department but do not have T4 access, check the University calendar for upcoming training dates. 

Simply put in the article as you normally would, and toward the bottom of the form make sure you click the “Ram Life” box in the “Display Options *” section. It’s as simple as that! From there it will automatically show up in our queue, and be considered for inclusion in an upcoming addition of Ram Life!

When is the deadline?

The deadline to submit news stories for Ram Life is 5 p.m. on Friday for the following Tuesday.

A few important tips to remember:

The headline and teaser

• The "Name *" (headline) should be between 7-10 words.
• The "Teaser *" should not be longer than a sentence, and should also not simply repeat the same information from the title.
• Make them catchy! You only have these two lines to grab a student's attention; think about what might make them want to read the whole story!

Include a photo

• All Ram Life stories must include a feature photo in the "Photo *" section of the form. Submissions without photos cannot be considered.
• Additional photos may (and are encouraged to) be embedded in the article, but it is required that at least one be included in the "Photo *" section.
• You must own the rights to a photo, have explicit permission to use it or it must be copyright-free (don't just do a Google image search; your best bet is to use a photo from the T4 "Media Library" or take it yourself).
• All photos must be landscape, and exactly 450x300 pixels (use Pixlr to crop and resize photos. It's easy and free to use). 

Categorize your story

• Make sure you select the appropriate category in the "Title Category" section (the default is "Campus Buzz," and that might not be appropriate for your story).

Write for your audience

• Write as if you're speaking directly to students. The tone for Ram Life is casual and conversational. There's certainly a space for academic writing, but this is not it!
• Remember, you're competing with all the other media channels for their attention (darn smartphones), and we want them to read yours! Is there a more exciting way to frame your message? Could it be a listicle? A video? There are tons of options, and you're only limited by their bandwidth and your imagination! 

If you need special consideration

• Though your articles will automatically be considered for inclusion in Ram Life, if you have a promotion schedule in mind or a specific Tuesday you would like your story to run, contact David Monge.