Belize journalism exhibition to open Dec. 6 at Reitz Student Union

November 28, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – “Belize in Words and Pictures,” an exhibit featuring the work of University of Florida international journalism students, opens Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the Reitz Student Union.

The event is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. on the Union’s second floor and will showcase photography and writing from the Central American nation of Belize.

“This may have been our best trip yet,” said professor John Kaplan, who teaches the class. “The students were engaged and productive, yet they also enjoyed themselves; that’s a challenging balance.”

The exhibition is free and open to the public, featuring more than 20 photographs and written excerpts from a weeklong trip to Placencia, Belize. The undergraduate and graduate students documented the culture and lives of Belizeans in the Stann Creek district, along the southern coast of Belize.

Additionally, one student, a former New Orleans resident, returned to capture the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina there.

The program, nicknamed the Florida FlyIns, is an advanced journalism course taught by Pulitzer Prize winner and journalism professor John Kaplan. This is the program’s sixth year.

The exhibit will continue through Jan.13, and the latest edition of the Florida FlyIns online magazine, www.internationaljournalism.com, will appear in January. For photograph information, contact John Kaplan at (352) 392-0435.