OPINION & EDITORIAL
Journey worth treasuring
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Also by Cristina Daglas:
- Lack of cohesive leads cause Herald readers to quickly lose interest (October 20, 2005)
- Neglecting pertinent information hurts credibility (October 27, 2005)
- Irrelavent stories add little to news coverage (November 10, 2005)
- Avoidable errors mar otherwise well-written articles (November 17, 2005)
- Herald coverage of TAA well focused (December 1, 2005)
Related Stories:
- Just say no to jerks (September 27, 2002)
- Passengers deserve bill of rights (March 23, 2007)
- $1.85 worth of (wage) difference (October 1, 2004)
- Big Niche Network (October 1, 2007)
- Elizabeth Waters dormitory not sexist (March 17, 2005)
by Cristina Daglas
Thursday, May 5, 2005
“Can’t this wait ‘till I’m old, can’t I live while I’m young?” This Phish quote became something to live by this year. It was spit out in a vulgar fashion more times than one. But it was worth it.
Many say 50-hour workweeks combined with being on call 24 hours a day is a job that should wait or, better yet, never be taken. Students call the hours and work insane. I call it living the life of a college journalist. … I call it normal.
As an 18-year-old college freshman, I climbed the steps of The Badger Herald with no idea what I was getting myself into. After a semester of reporting and a quick promotion to an editor position, workdays became stressful, chaotic and resulted in a few gray hairs. But as the semesters continued, a pattern developed. I was seeing things, covering events and talking to people that I never would have imagined at 20 years old.
Oh, the things I’ve seen. …
At the beginning of the political frenzy that would be the 2004 presidential election, a group of Heralders traveled to the Iowa caucus, where I witnessed the famous “Dean Scream.” Yes, he screamed. Yes, it was dramatic. Yes, it was blown out of proportion by the media. And yet seeing a presidential hopeful whip off his suit jacket with an intense shout and follow with a “speech” of state ramblings was priceless.
A few months later, I found myself sitting on a hill, shivering and watching as police officers pointed guns into the marshy, wooded area next to the Alliant Energy Center. Miss Audrey Seiler had just surfaced after her disappearance stint. And I was there, covering it … for four hours. There’s nothing better than having an inkling something is off, that perhaps there’s a huge chunk of information not being told to the press, and yet I still sit and wait for the “abductor” to emerge. As any good University of Wisconsin student knows, the big, bad man never did.
Flash forward further into the election run. I’m looking over a crowd of tens of thousands of people. I’m in the air, on a shaking platform, held up by a crane. I’m staring down at the approximately 80,000 individuals congregated to hear presidential hopeful John Kerry speak. Bruce Springsteen accompanies Kerry. It’s an absolutely breathless sight.
The election has passed, and I’m back to Iowa to see the Badgers’ chance at a Rose Bowl bid drift away. A photo pass dangles around my neck, accompanied by a camera worth more than every point-and-shoot I’ve ever owned combined. I watch the game from the sidelines. My jeans are caked with mud from kneeling and my fingers are numb. Much of the time is spent walking past the Badger bench, trying to catch a picture of Anthony Davis. I’m struck by how tiny and hilarious I look standing next to any player on the team. In the end, Iowa fans rush the field in their victory. So bittersweet. Great experience. Disappointing outcome.
A few months later, I sit on the floor with a photo pass and camera once again. This time I’m at the University of Illinois, watching the Badgers try to beat the No. 1-rated basketball team. No such luck, but I was close enough to get great pictures of a certain attractive player.
And then there’s my true passion: music. As a college journalist, free passes and interview opportunities surface, but they usually doesn’t equate to an after-show gathering with fans, friends and family of the band. This time it did. Off the record, conversations ran rampant. … it was an incredible time with my favorite band.
I have sacrificed sleep. I have grown accustomed to permanent bags under my eyes. I have begged for paper extensions from professors. And I’ve loved every minute of it. I’ve never viewed my job as a chore, as something I should be doing when I’m old rather than now. I’ve viewed my job as living. The life of a college journalist is hectic, exciting and draining. It’s the only time you’re going to cover the things you love, whether it be yet another protest, a college game for all the marbles or a concert at this young-adult age. This is the only time we’ll run every day on fewer than four hours of sleep, go to class in pajamas and still pull decent grades.
It’s been a wild ride. Thank you.
Anonymous (May 5, 2005 @ 4:29am):
OK she opened with a PHISH quote...lol How did this nutjob become editor?
Anonymous (May 5, 2005 @ 4:29am):
oh and she looks like a cabbage patch kid.
Anonymous (May 5, 2005 @ 8:06am):
Fuck y'all. Cristina's been the best EIC since Bosman, at least. Mad props to you, girl.
Anonymous (May 5, 2005 @ 9:05am):
Thanks for the shoutout.
-Clayton
Anonymous (May 5, 2005 @ 5:40pm):
Bosman?! Who posted that?! First of all... That's hella old school. Second of all, does anybody think Daglas can make it to the Times (like Bosman)?
Anonymous (May 5, 2005 @ 6:18pm):
I'f that's the best picture of her, I'm not reading the article. I'm judging the article by the picture. It probabily sounds like it's done by an ungly eighth grader
Anonymous (May 5, 2005 @ 7:01pm):
"If that's the best picture of her, I'm not reading the article. I'm judging the article by the picture."
-- Why columnists should not have their pictures in the paper.
Anonymous (May 7, 2005 @ 10:10am):
Also, if you want to meet up sometime, talk about Phish or such, email me.
-Clayton
Anonymous (May 8, 2005 @ 7:27pm):
Hey Cristina,
Here's an interesting idea for one last news story. The cafeteria ran out of Twinkies.
-Twinkie Police
Anonymous (June 8, 2005 @ 8:53pm):
lol "The cafeteria called, they are out of Twinkies"
Anonymous (June 17, 2005 @ 12:20am):
PICKETERS NEEDED!!!
URGENT!!!
TERRORISTS PLAN TO MEET ON OUR CAMPUS NEXT WEEK!!!
SEE http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1100
Draft Agenda
Friday, June 24
Grainger Hall of Business Administration, University of Wisconsin
975 University Avenue
7:00-8:30PM Beyond Chutzpah: The Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History
Dr. Norman Finkelstein, Professor of Political Theory at DePaul University, and author of Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, will present a keynote address that is free and open to the public.
Saturday, June 25
Grainger Hall of Business Administration, University of Wisconsin
975 University Avenue
8:30-9:30AM Registration and breakfast
9:30-10:15AM Welcome/Ice-Breakers and About the US Campaign
Members of the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project will welcome conference participants to Madison and review conference logistics with attendees. Kymberlie Quong Charles, US Campaign Membership Outreach Coordinator, will introduce the US Campaign, its goals, membership criteria, organizing strategy, taskforces, days of action, etc.
10:30AM-12:00PM Skills-Building Workshop Session #1
Workshops will be practical, hands-on, skills-building sessions that will increase the effectiveness of conference attendees' activism. Conference attendees will choose three out of four workshops. For the media and grassroots advocacy workshops, conference attendees will be encouraged to plug into national taskforces facilitated by the US Campaign. Scheduled workshop facilitators are:
Divestment: Mohammed Abed, al-Awda Wisconsin, Mark Evenson & Nancy Turner, Faculty, UW-Platteville, and The Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals
Sister City Projects: Jennifer Loewenstein, George Arida, Jim Goronson, Kathy Walsh, Madison-Rafah Sister City Project
Grassroots Advocacy: Josh Ruebner, US Campaign Legislative Task Force
Media: Rima Mutreja, Palestine Media Watch/US Campaign Media Task Force
12:00PM-1:30PM Lunch & informal caucuses/affinity groups
NOTE: Lunch is not being provided at the conference. Conference attendees will be directed to low-cost food options near campus.
Conference attendees will organize themselves into informal caucuses/affinity groups in order to network and strategize by common interest. Examples could be by religious, ethnic, racial, professional, or geographic identity.
1:30PM-3:00PM Skills-Building Workshop Session #2
3:00PM-3:30PM Break
3:30PM-5:00PM Skills-Building Workshop Session #3
5:00PM-5:30PM Conclusions & Evaluations
Conference organizers will facilitate a discussion on lessons learned from the conference and encourage people and groups to plug into the work of the US Campaign. Conference attendees who are willing to circulate their contact information can do so and will be encouraged to fill out conference evaluation forms before leaving.
The Crossing, 1127 University Ave.
5:30PM-7:30PM Social Hour/Dinner
The conference will move across campus to The Crossing, a campus religious center, for a social hour and Middle Eastern dinner. Both conference attendees and the general public are invited to the dinner, which will cost $10.
7:30PM-9:00PM Rebuilding Homes, Rebuilding Hopes in Gaza
Cindy and Craig Corrie, the parents of Rachel Corrie, a US peace activist who was killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, and Khaled and Samah Nasrallah, family members who lived in the house that Rachel tried to prevent from being demolished when she was killed, will present the story that links their families together. The panelists will be introduced by Joe Carr, a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, who will also peform a spoken word tribute to Rachel Corrie. The panelists will speak about their involvement with the Rebuilding Homes Alliance and there will be a fundraiser for the US Campaign and the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project. The event is free and open to the public.
Sunday, June 26
The Crossing, 1127 University Ave.
9:00AM-9:30 AM Breakfast
9:30-12:00PM Strategizing Session
Conference attendees will group themselves by geography (local, regional, state-wide) in order to strategize and develop a plan of action for their area in an informal setting. Strategizing sessions will be facilitated by conference organizers to encourage the formation of new groups where none exist, to strengthen existing groups, and to create local, regional, and state-wide coalitions that are plugged into the work and organizing strategy of the US Campaign.
