My life until I began working at the Daily Bruin was quite
uncomplicated. Like many students, I was apathetic. My mind was
inundated with MTV, VH1 and “Law and Order.”
I had never given serious thought to political issues. My
views were quite broad ““ you know, of the
world-peace-and-end-to-poverty variety. These were more like lofty
ideals than stances.
Then two things happened that forced me to pay attention. These
things forced me to have views and actually to use my brain.
The first was meeting the person who would be my best friend
throughout my college career, someone who has a political view on
almost everything. The second was starting work at The Bruin.i
My friend played a role simply because he made me feel, quite
frankly, dumb.
I didn’t really know about the topics he would address in
conversations, and he was just so intelligent. Arguing with him was
like arguing with an encyclopedia, a history book and CNN, all at
the same time. I realized if I was ever to win a debate, or even
understand what in the world he was talking about, I’d have
to start reading the news.
And that I did. During my second year, I applied to be a copy
editing intern at The Bruin. Initially, I didn’t think of it
as a way to keep myself informed. I had no idea how much I’d
learn simply from reading stories from every section of the
newspaper two or three times a week.
For those who are unaware, copy editors basically proofread
stories. We correct grammatical mistakes, make sure the articles
conform to Associated Press style, write headlines, and edit other
elements of stories. Copy editors are also the last line of defense
against libel and plagiarism.
I was required to read each story carefully because I needed to
sum up the main point with a sentence ““ or sometimes with
only a word or two ““ and I had to make sure there was nothing
for which The Bruin could be sued.
Through my work at the paper, I began to learn about larger
issues ““ political, cultural and social ““ on campus,
nationally and internationally. I even began to learn about the
college sports world, to hope women’s track was doing well,
and to be happy that baseball had made it to the postseason.
It became important for me to know what the new provisions of
the state budget were — not only because I wanted to make sure the
writer of the budget story had gotten it right — but also because
I understood how such issues affected me. Soon, these issues
actually became interesting.
Reading The Onion and watching “The Daily Show”
became much more enjoyable because I actually understood the jokes.
Even the monologues of late-night talk show hosts such as Jay Leno
include current events, and if you know what the heck they’re
talking about, you can laugh just a little bit louder.
So, my advice to all you crazy kids who can’t or
don’t want to work at The Bruin: Pick up a paper and read it.
Visit CNN.com. Be informed so you know what’s going on around
you because as GI Joe says, “Knowing is half the
battle.” And knowing makes life just that much more
interesting.
Dee was a 2003-2004 copy deputy.