From one extreme to another

My transition from full-time writer to part-time editor has been fairly smooth, and I am quickly finding my role in the newsroom. I thought it would be nice to offer some newcomer insight.
First, I have to shamelessly advertise to any print majors or anyone else that has thought about working for The Daily Gamecock. This is the best damn job you'll ever have in college. I looked at some of the posts before mine and read all the criticism and sob stories about the stress involved. I'll be the first to admit that writing a 500-plus word story about a Residence Hall Association meeting where ABSOLUTELY NOTHING happened in less than an hour is not always fun, especially when your editor is harassing you when you are 30 seconds past your deadline. I love you Jackie!
But with that taken into consideration, who else can say that they get paid to hang out with their friends in an informal setting, mulling over the intricacies of style and grammar, with a month of paid vacation? OK, I made up the last part, but if you're on the fence, don't hesitate. If you have a busy schedule, we can still work with you. And if nothing else, do it for the experience. If you're a print major who hasn't worked for some kind of publication prior to graduation, good luck competing for jobs.
Now, on to some deeper issues that I've been contemplating for a while: I've heard numerous complaints about the practicality of The Daily Gamecock and a recent date -- who will remain anonymous -- called The Gamecock a "waste of paper." Needless to say, we won't be tying the knot any time soon.
I feel like it's so easy to criticize one of your only sources of campus news when it suits you, while overlooking all the things that make The Gamecock crucial on campus. When student elections were coming up, where did most people turn to find the candidate's platforms? When the results of the election were contested, how did people find out? When a Nobel Prize-winning professor gives a lecture, where can you find a detailed account the next day? We may not always run stories that are specifically relevant or interesting to everyone on campus, but we have a diverse readership. It's important that a newspaper not cater to any one person.
The diversity of the readership is also why we have sections. By categorizing our material, students can flip to whatever section they like best. Not all college papers are like this. UNC Chapel Hill's newspaper, for example, has no sections. Now, I'm not hating on the school that rejected me, but that's just confusing -- and stupid.
So next time you pick up the paper, realize that it is the product of people -- people who make mistakes and people with a diverse range of experiences and views. It is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of campus life. Take it for what it’s worth, but don't take it for granted.

--Ryan James
Assistant News Editor