Texan Mosaic

by REBEKAH HARVEY

After 101 days writing for the Plainsman Press, I’m done.

That’s really not a long time. One semester of writing and that is it.

I’ve always been a curious person. After my last interview, which I’m currently working on, I have no excuse to interview a new professor or student and get to know their story. I can no longer be brave through the lens of a journalist.

I had no idea what I was getting into at the beginning of the semester. I soon learned that the Newsroom was a small family. We eat together, we laugh together, and we stay up until 3 a.m. together. I learned that I would get out of the Newsroom what I put into it.

From the beginning, I knew I wanted leave with a better understanding of journalism and what true objectivity looks like. On the other side of the semester, I’ve gotten that and so much more.

Being on the newspaper staff has been both fun and stressful. The nights have been long, the proofreading seemingly never ending, and new corrections ostensibly kept coming up.

As the feature editor, I interviewed professors, students, and alumni. I got to know their stories and draw inspiration from each of them. Each interview presented a unique story that I learned something from. I love that I was allowed to write what I wanted but was also pushed to expand my writing.

In the Newsroom, I was reminded of the struggle newspapers are having. The Plainsman Press is fortunate to have support from the college. I’ve delivered newspapers to the Office of Development and Alumni Relations and to President Satterwhite’s office. Numerous staff, students and alumni read the paper. I’ve received emails from past faculty who read a feature on a student they had years ago. We have the support of so many people, but especially the college. So many newspapers aren’t so fortunate to have that much support.

Newspapers across the nation are starting to shut down, closing down their printing presses. If journalism dies, so do people’s stories. We need more people to be bold and ask people to sit down, maybe over coffee, maybe in an office, and tell their story. There are so many people who have an amazing story to be told, and there needs to be people there to tell those stories.

As long as the Plainsman Press and the staff are around, journalism will live on. If there are teachers and students to read the amazing work that this staff creates, journalism will have a place at this college.

I never planned on getting into journalism. I took this class to fill my degree requirements. But the paper has turned into so much more than a class to me. This experience has opened my eyes to the opportunities I have going forward. I’m so thankful for the time I’ve had working at the paper and all of the people I’ve grown closer to during the semester.