The Rattler April 19, 2006 v. 93 #11 - St. Mary's University

Commentary14 www.stmarytx.edu/rattler The RattlerApril 19, 2006The newsroom keeps rattlingFrancisco Vara-OrtaEditor-in-ChiefMajor: English/Communication ArtsMinor: Latin AmericanStudiesCareer Goals: JournalistWhen Francisco first walkedinto my room four years ago, Iwasn’t sure what to expect.Everyone had left the lightsoff all summer long in 2002, afterI was shutdown over ethicalviolations, but the landlord,Dean Karen Johnson, gave the18-year-old freshman the keys tomy home and encouraged him tomake himself at home.He certainly did.Do what youlove, lovewhat you doTommy DeibelStaff WriterMajor: English/Communication ArtsMinor: PhilosophyCareer Goals: ChefLet me give it to you straight:do what you love. Don’t get caughtup with this lust for money that somany people around us have beensnagged into.When I first began at St. Mary’sUniversity, I was a business major. Ihave no problem with the businessschool; I even got good gradesin the classes I took. However,I found that the business worldwas not the place for me. I thinkthat if you are going to go throughlife, it should be doing somethingbecause that is what you love todo, not because you may get rich.This is why I became anEnglish/Communication Arts(EA) major. After taking threebusiness classes, I looked back torealize I wanted something morefor my “career choice.” I took alook at all of the classes that werebeing offered at St. Mary’s andcame to the conclusion that EAmajors had the coolest classes(at least, in my opinion). EA waswhere I found my passions as wellas my strengths.I have always enjoyed artand writing. While the EA majordoesn’t focus primarily on art, itdoes have many of its roots there.The photography and film classesare two aspects of the major thatappealed to me. I found that if theEA major related to things thatinterested me, then I would beinterested in the classes.This is my suggestion toeveryone at St. Mary’s; find outwhat you like to do and what youlike to learn about. If you chooseyour major because it will leadto a high-paying job, make sureyou will enjoy that job as muchas the classes. So, if you want tobe a doctor because you love tolearn about medicine and health,then good for you; however if youwant to be a rich doctor but hateyour biology class, change yourmajor, now.Now my walls are adornedwith over 106 national and statejournalism awards (with, at least,three first place awards), my newcountertop shelves are lined withnew equipment from the grantshis staff garnered, and, mostimportantly, the 1,000 copies Isend out twice a month to myneighbors at the stands no longerreturn.No, I’m not the sandwichin the cafeteria nor the StudentGovernment Association office.Yes, I’m The Rattler newsroom,a small, modest space on theUniversity Center’s second floor,where a group of students toilI must admit, journalism is notmy number one career goal afterI graduate from college. Actually,I still don’t know what I wantto do when I grow up. I used tohave a bit of an idea, though.When I was in third grade, Ifigured that at least by the age Iam now, I would have been toMars with NASA. I still think itwould be cool to be an astronaut,but mostly for the anti-gravityaspect of being in space.I also wanted to be apaleontologist. I was a veryproud eight-year old because Iknew what this word meant andhow to spell it. Paleontology isthe study of fossils. I wanted tostudy dinosaur bones; JurassicPark was my favorite movie.When I was a child I alsowanted to be a marine biologist,particularly a shark watcher. Iwanted to be that diver in thecage luring giant great whitesharks with bloody fish guts,which is called chum. I still haveThe walls of my tiny roomin Treadaway Hall are adornedwith an abundance of memoriesthat I have collected throughoutmy four years at St. Mary’s.Displayed are silly picturesof my friends, pictures of mytime abroad in Spain and even ajam-packed Elvis calendar full ofactivities on my never ending “todo” list!Yet, there is a less obviousmemory on my wall, a prayerentitled, “A Future Not OurOwn,” which hangs by my deskwhere I am constantly remindedof its message.It was written by one ofmy heroes, Archbishop OscarRomero, who was murdered foradvocating social justice in ElSalvador.In essence, his prayer explainsthat throughout our lifetimes weare working towards a future notour own, that our generation willlay the foundation for the future.“We cannot do everythingand there is a sense of liberationSENIOR PERSPECTIVES: GRADUATIONaway all year long to produceaward-winning, fully studentproducedjournalism everytwo weeks for the St. Mary’scommunity.Francisco and his team ofhard-working editors have aimedtirelessly to consistently capturethe intrest of fellow students andthe issues that concern them ininteresting, informative, thoughtprovokingand fun stories.He and some of his “family,” ashe calls them, lived here for fouryears but are now facing evictionbecause they will be issued a“degree” this May.Now 21, Francisco is leavingall my shark books, but I am stillterrified by Jaws: I, II, III, IV, andXXVI, or however many sequelsthere are.Cake maker was also up thereon my list of career aspirations.This was mostly because I lovedcake (I still love cake)!So, here I am closing theundergraduate chapter of mylife. I know that it’s very likelythat most college grads won’tbe starting their dream jobs onMonday, May 15.In fact, we may not be startingour dream jobs for many years tocome. From the Career ServicesCenter, I learned that the averageAmerican will change careersfive times.I think that the careerin realizing that. This enables usto do something and to do it verywell. It may be incomplete, butit is a beginning step along theway.”This quotation is relevant inmy life because, as my collegiatecareer comes to a close, I realizethat I am becoming overwhelmedwith all the options I will havepost-graduation.On my future “to do” list, Iwant to work for an organizationthat aims to help eliminate socialissues that plague our world,such as poverty, hunger andhomelessness.However, as Romero states,there is a sense in liberationin knowing that we cannot doeverything, yet it is important toattempt to do something.me for another; typical man.But I understand that the LosAngeles Times will treat him well,hopefully at least as well as I haveduring his stay at St. Mary’s.I’ll miss him, but he turnedover his newsroom keys to abright young lady named Kim,along with 13 other editors and astaff of thirty-plus aspiring mediaprofessionals.I’m glad that this time around,when the outgoing editor leaves,I’ll have a house full of warm,good-hearted, talented people tokeep the business running - andkeep you reading.Education for education’s sakeCaroline HallmanCopy EditorMajor: English/Communication ArtsCareer Goals: PoliticalActivistCarla E. AguilarFeatures EditorMajor: English/Communication ArtsCareer Goals: Work for anon-profit organizationchanging process has a lot todo with discovery. People startdiscovering what they like, andwhat they are good at.I initially picked the English/Communication Arts majorbecause I was running out of timeand it fit me best, but it wasn’t amatter of love for the field. Themost important thing to get outof college is not necessarily ajob, but to get a well-roundededucation. This is best offered ata liberal arts university like St.Mary’s.I don’t know exactly whatI want to do when I grow up(which is now), but I do knowthat I love learning, and that ishealthy.For the rest of my life, I wantto continue learning, whether itbe through seeking a higher leveldegree, taking classes for my ownpersonal enjoyment and growth,and/or being open-minded towhat’s going on around me andin the rest of the world.Take it one step at a timeStudent finds liberating inspiration in Archbishop’s words.With this in mind, I am proudto see campus wide initiativesaimed at spreading awarenesson social issues through panelpresentations and film viewings,such as the showing of InvisibleChildren recently by AmnestyInternational and the UniversityProgramming Council.These things provide hopethat our generations are layingthe proper foundations for thefuture.In hindsight, I realize thatperhaps I did not have a chanceto do everything that I wanted todo at St. Mary’s, but whatever Idid, I tried to do it well.So, as I leave my post asFeatures Editor, I realize thatwhat makes leaving the paperso hard for many editors is thatthe future of what we helpedbuild up will soon be out of ourhands.It is a future not our own.Singingpraise forlow-keyleadersKavita BhallaCommentary EditorMajor: Political ScienceCareer Goals: Civil RightsLawyer/AdvocateIf I can offer one piece of adviceto any student at St. Mary’s, itwould be to not expect anything.Don’t expect the best, don’t expectthe worst. Don’t expect to bepraised, and don’t expect to bediscouraged.Give your time, energy anddedication to helping “fix” St.Mary’s because you want to, notbecause you think you will bethanked for it later.Bring about change to helpyourself and others, not because theexperience will leave you lookinglike a St. Mary’s superstar.This school is full of heroeswhose stories you won’t everhear about, whose pictures aren’tshowcased on a wall, and whoseentire time at St. Mary’s was spenttrying to make your educationbetter.These heroes have been takenfor granted by everyone; students,faculty and administration,and unfortunately, they’llnever be recognized for theiraccomplishments, abilities orsacrifices.Every single of one of themdeserves to be recognized forwhat they have done here at St.Mary’s, but there is a chance theywon’t be.St. Mary’s gets you preparedfor the world after college byemphasizing realistic expectationsyou should have about life ingeneral. It teaches you what it canfeel like to be passed over, to feelunimportant, and to feel like youraccomplishments aren’t worthy ofthe attention of others, but this canbe a good thing.It is important to realize that noone’s opinion matters more thanyour own. You are playing to anaudience of yourself, and as longas you are satisfied with your ownperformance, that’s all that shouldmatter.Be proud of what youaccomplish; do not look to someoneelse for praise. You know howmuch you have truly achieved inyour undergraduate career, so beproud, take it for what it’s worth,and graduate already!BEHIND-THE-SCENESEDITORS GRADUATINGPedro NietoAdvertising ManagerMajor: MarketingCareer Goals:EntrepreneurDenise M. SalinasLayout/Design ManagerMajor: English/Communication ArtsMinor: ArtCareer Goals: GraphicDesigner