Three years of happy
servitude reveal that
journalism matters
I don’t want to write this gradua
tion column. It just serves a
reminder that I must now grow up,
join the real world and be a respon
sible adult. The safety net of Univer
any nit* la duuui iu ut?
yanked away, and quite
frankly, I’m pissed.
And frightened.
For one, how will I possi
bly survive without my job
at the Oregon Daily Emer
ald? Trust me, it’s not the
pay I’m talking about. It’s
just that for the past three
years, my life has been
rooieu nere.
I have spent more time at the
Emerald than anywhere else on cam
pus. It defines my college life. (Which
goes to show you that I don’t have
much of a life!)
This newsroom consumes you so
much that even when you don’t
need to be here, you’ll still come in
or suffer from withdrawal symp
toms. I’ll probably come in on June
11 and the Department of Public
Safety will have to drag me away
kicking and screaming.
In the past three years, I’ve
watched three editors-in-chief take
over and numerous reporters suffer
through the workload and quit.
Only the really courageous, the
overambitious or the crazy survive
here. I fall under the crazy. I’ve
worked here so long, I’m almost
part of the furniture.
I have to admit that the Emerald
has taught me a lot, which is why
I’ve stayed all this time.
I’ve learned that there is nothing
quite like having deadline in
10 minutes and your main source still
has not returned your seventh phone
call. It gives the word stress a whole
new meaning.
I’ve also learned that there’s a
special kind of thrill that comes
from chasing a story and staying up
until 2 a.m. to get it done like we
did on election nights or the night I
had to cover the Commentator’s
budget hearing with the Programs
AYISHA YAHYA
AFRO CAFE
r induce uuiiiniiuee.
I’ve learned that it’s real
ly painful to be scooped on
an article by
The Register-Guard, but it
sure feels good when we
scoop them.
I’ve learned that sources
are real people, and con
trary to popular belief,
journalists have hearts.
i nere s sometnmg gratirying in
knowing that a
story made a difference in some
one’s life. I’ll never forget the time I
wrote an obituary about a student
and his parents e-mailed the next
day to say they thought the article
captured their son’s life so well.
I have also learned that what we
write holds a lot of weight, even
when we don’t realize it. The hun
dreds of insulting e-mails I received
after I covered a lecture by Los Ange
les Times’ John Carroll, who criti
cized FOX News, taught me that the
public will react and not always be
civil about it.
I’ve been surrounded by a
great team of editors and reporters
who remind me every day why
journalism matters. We’ve covered
some phenomenal stories in
the past three years. We’ve
made some people really angry. But
I’d like to believe that we’ve also giv
en the University community
information that it needs, that
we have evoked discussion, that
we have the set the ball rolling
for change.
I will miss the Emerald, not just
because I loved working here, but
also because it offered me a great
way to connect to my university.
von Klein Property
Management, LLC
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