When you only have thirty seconds of someone’s attention, how can you change their mind?
Last spring, DeWitt Wallace Professor of English and Creative Writing James Dawes’ Writing to Change Minds course set out to explore that challenge by teaching students how to cut through the noise and make their voices heard in a crowded world. The class combined practical instruction in short-form writing with theoretical exploration of how language shapes our ability to change minds, helping students practice distilling their deepest values into words that resonate.
“This was one of the most unique classes I took at Mac,” says Yvonne Moreira-Andrade ʼ25. “We didn’t just do op-ed writing. Professor Dawes took us out to restaurants, and we wrote restaurant reviews. It was good for learners who need more hands-on learning. That was hands down one of my favorite classes at Mac.”
Meeting for an hour every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the spring semester, the course pushed twenty students to reconsider how they write, think, and communicate.
Then, the unexpected happened: Leena Gowrisankaran ’28, Isabella Mulhall ’28, Jenna Hawkes ’25 and Moreira-Andrade were published in The Wall Street Journal.
Student says the accomplishment felt surreal. The idea that something they had written could reach millions of Wall Street Journal readers had seemed nearly impossible.
Moreira-Andrade’s piece, “Why Gen Z Embraced Trump,” was the first to get published. In it, she explored the causes behind why a portion of Gen Z supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election, and argued that young men today need better role models on social media.
“It’s definitely the most viewed, most consumed anything that I’ve ever been a part of. It was shocking,” says Moreira-Andrade. “It’s a good feeling. I’m making people think and I’m putting Macalester out there.”
Post-graduation, Moreira-Andrade reflects on the experience fondly, crediting the course with instilling skills that continue to serve her as she writes concise, focused essays for graduate school applications.
For Hawkes, the lessons from the course have proved just as enduring.
“I hosted an op-ed writing lesson for the nonprofit I was working for to help professionals excel at short-form argumentative writing,” she says. “Since then, I’ve also held several Letter to the Editor writing workshops to help empower community members to use their voices for issues they care about. The course helped me to be the expert in the room in these situations.”
Hawkes’ Wall Street Journal piece, “Who’s Afraid of Flying?” asked whether Americans should be concerned about air travel, drawing on research that connects climate change to changes in aviation safety, including the increasing prevalence of turbulence.
“I chose Macalester, in part, because of its access to internships and the potential to set myself up for a job after college,” says Hawkes. “I was always very interested in these vocationally oriented classes that prepared me with real-life skills. This was a class that I took to get better at short-form writing and op-ed writing.”
The students agree that the course gave them skills that will continue to bring purpose and fulfillment throughout their lives and careers.
“Writing op-eds is actually something I do for fun now,” says Moreira-Andrade. “I just realized it’s a really fun way to get your voice out there.”
Leena Gowrisankaran ʼ28’s piece “An American Health Remedy Under RFK Jr.” and Isabella Mulhall ʼ28’s “Ukraine, Trump, and an End to the War,” were also published in the Wall Street Journal.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled I was every time they got published,” says James Dawes. “For students who are as impassioned as Mac students are, but live in a world that feels like it’s crushing out the voices they tend to stand for, going from a classroom where you write essays for school to an op-ed in an outlet with nearly 5 million subscribers, there’s nothing quite like that.”
Read the articles here:
Wall Street Journal | “Why Gen Z Embraced Trump” (Yvonne Moreira-Andrade ’25)
Wall Street Journal | “Who’s Afraid of Flying?” (Jenna Hawkes ’25)
Wall Street Journal | “An American Health Remedy Under RFK Jr.” (Leena Gowrisankaran ’28)
Wall Street Journal | “Ukraine, Trump and an End to the War” (Isabella Mulhall ’28)