The Campus Times chronicles the news, activities, opinions and events of everyone at the University, except its own staff. Well, this is my last issue as editor of volume 133, so I’m going to disregard our policies and engage in some shameless self-promotion. I’m going to talk about us, the CT, because in the words of football legend Terrell Owens, “I love me some me.”
Ask an editor why they enjoy working for the CT and you will hear a variety of responses: “I love the challenges.” “I love the fast pace.” “I love finding stories and hearing about the issues behind them.” “I love writing.” “I love informing the campus about what’s going on.” But the one thing everyone says is, “I love the people I have met because of the CT.”
The CT is made up of some of the most dedicated people on this campus. Every week, editors work hard to fill their sections with relevant and interesting stories. They manage a team of writers, work within tough deadlines and stay up until the break of dawn laying out each issue. It says a lot that despite all of the pressure, all of the long nights in the depths of Wilson Commons, all of the challenges and all of the deadlines, this staff has grown together, learned together and become a close-knit group of friends.
The one thing you won’t hear from editors is, “I do it for the glory.” There is no glory in being a CT editor. When we leave the office after putting an issue together, we don’t exit to a round of applause or a line of handshakes and high-fives. We turn out the lights and close the door and walk home across an empty campus, weary-eyed and under the first rays of the morning sun.
The reward comes from seeing people we don’t know reading the pages we created. It comes from the satisfaction of knowing that we helped spark a conversation or brought attention to an issue. It comes from knowing we helped to keep a student informed.
It comes from knowing that we helped publicize the hard work and dedication of another group or team.
It comes from watching a stack of papers decrease throughout the week.
It comes from knowing that we shed light on a problem that needed to be addressed and hopefully aided in its resolution.
For me, the reward has come from listening to the stories of others. The other day I flipped through a few old issues and was quickly reminded about how much I have learned from so many people. Through my involvement with the CT, I have had the privilege of being able to share the stories of students, faculty and staff from across the University community. The work done at this school and dedication of the people that work and study here is truly inspiring. Thanks to everyone for their support and feedback through the past year and good luck on finals! Bruml is a member of the class of 2008.
