This is my last issue of the Sun Star. I've reported for it off and on for four years, ultimately landing the job of managing editor for this year. And now, I'm left with this column to tell you why I did what I did.
Being a reporter at the Sun Star is a grueling job if you want to do it right. On Friday, I had to skip much of the Case Day festivities to report on a breaking news story. Putting the paper together has caused me to lose my Sundays to a routine of coming into the office at 1 p.m. and usually not leaving until after midnight. On most Mondays, I walk around with a pain in my neck from a lack of sleep. And, as some of my professors will tell you, I often make up for my insomnia by dozing off in class.
It's easy at times to feel unappreciated in this job. Everyone wants their cause or event covered. But it's impossible, what with only 16 to 20 pages to fill and usually five people to write all the stories. And did I mention we're all students, whose first priority is homework?
The letters to the editor page can get ugly. Angry phone calls are common. At times people stop into the office just to yell. Threats and insults from student government members are a semi-regular occurrence.
Yet it was worth it. For the past four years, the Sun Star offered me a chance to encourage discussion about issues on this campus. This year, the newspaper focused on a variety of topics -- crime, textbook prices, gender diversity, campus dining, pay disparities and ethics. For once, I feel like we educated people. And while our critics were vocal, I found joy in just watching people grab our newest issue off the stands, even if they never wrote us or told us thanks.
Administrators, as recently as Saturday, have said that at times the articles and editorials I oversaw "left many of us with gray hairs." And while I do worry about the graying of the university's employees, I also think it's healthy for the administration to receive public praise and criticism from students.
I also enjoyed working with other reporters. This year would not have been possible without the Sun Star staff and our pool of reporters, photographers and cartoonists. We had a good run, and those who aren't graduating like me will be able to look forward to working in the fall under the Sun Star's new editor, Lacie Grosvold.
This was a good experience, and I'm thankful for the opportunity UAF gave me by letting me report for and edit this paper. At a university, open discussion is a necessary component, even if at times the discussion can turn critical of the university itself. I'm glad I got to help the discussion flow.
