As my first year at the University heads into its final weeks, I have started to look back at the opportunities I did or did not take advantage of. Some of the year is a blur - late nights with friends and early mornings for Navy ROTC. But there is a number of experiences which stand out to me. Keeping my grades up while juggling NROTC was not an easy task, so I take some pride in that. Right up there with this accomplishment is writing for The Cavalier Daily. If there is one choice I am glad I made during this year, it is choosing to try out for this newspaper. And it is a choice I would encourage anyone who is even remotely interested to make.
During this year, I have contributed almost twenty opinion articles to this newspaper, each the product of somewhere between two and four hours of work done in the middle of the week. I have spent another hour or so every week at the newspaper's office going over revisions in my articles before they can be published. But I know that I have gotten back much more than I have given. Seeing my name in print and hearing the support of friends and family who have read my columns has been a uniquely rewarding experience.
The Cavalier Daily exposed me to a different style of writing. At the beginning, I had a lot to learn about eliminating contractions. I also had to give up the oxford comma, to which I am quite attached. More than the grammar changes, I had to really focus my writing. My editors' voices now ring in my head when I write my columns; I try, as best I can, to anticipate their criticisms before they have had the chance to make them.
But the most intense, and for me the most fun, part of writing in the journalistic setting was the criticism provided by readers. In one column, as more than one commenter pointed out, I referred to the idea of manmade global warming as 'anthropomorphic global warming,' which implies that the global warming has human-like qualities, when really I should have used the word 'anthropogenic.' A guest viewpoint criticizing another column of mine pointed out my "naive and moralistic self-righteousness" and "cowboy sensibilities," which hurt me a little, but amused and educated me a lot. Scathing criticisms of my opinions were even rewarding in a sense, because they were proof that others had read, if not agreed with, what I had written.
Writing for The Cavalier Daily has also given me a chance to meet new people. I had initially assumed, as I am certain others do, that most people who wrote for the newspaper pretty much fell into the same single-minded, journalistic stereotype. But the individuals who make up this newspaper are politically, socially, racially and culturally diverse. I got to become friends with people who, like me, call Texas their home. On the other hand, I made a good number of friends from all over, and outside, of the country. Some agreed with my position on the issues of the day and validated my views, yet there were those who challenged every sentence I wrote. Becoming a part of The Cavalier Daily was, and continues to be, a very enriching experience.
The best part of writing a weekly column was the knowledge that I was a part of an organization incomparable to others at the University in some sense. Religious groups and intramural sports are great ways to pursue interests and forge new ties with people here at the University. But throwing the frisbee around, fun as it is, cannot rival a newspaper in terms of relevance to the University itself. The newspaper was founded in 1890, which makes this year its 123rd. I plan on being a part of The Cavalier Daily during my time here; but even when I graduate, I will be able to look back on this experience, so intricately tied to the University, as both a great choice and a great source of pride.
Working for The Cavalier Daily is an experience I would recommend to anyone. I have played a role in getting at least one more person to join and hope to attract more with this final column of the year. Journalism is not my primary interest, and it may not be yours, but there is a lot more to be found in a daily newspaper than journalistic practice. Instead, working for newspapers in general can be a rewarding experience which will look fine on any resume; but more importantly, time at The Cavalier Daily can be a way to permanently tie yourself to the past, present and future of Mr. Jefferson's University.
Sam Novack's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at s.novack@cavalierdaily.com.
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