As far as seasons go, fall is the season most closely associated with words like ìchangeî and ìtransition,î or ìHalloween costume and keg party.î Joking aside, many of you picking up this paper are undergoing a significant change in your life.
Johnny the wide-eyed freshman is changing his usual midnight bedtime to compensate for the noise coming from his suitemates playing Super Smash Brothers all night while also adjusting to the fact that he doesnít HAVE to go to class if there is a baseball game on TV or if a hangover is pounding mallets into his forehead. Caron, the glad-to-be-out-of-my-shitty-small-town transfer student has ditched her dingy community college trailer home classroom for the behemoth H&SS lecture hall. And Sally Goodie-Goodie has discovered that her high school boyfriend is already cheating on her after promising to be loyal ìno matter how far apart we are,î so she takes a liking to a strong drink and the exchange student down the hall. The tragic tradition of growing up lives on for yet another year.
And with changes come decisions, just as how a poker player can fold, stay or raise as he sees his cards and the pot develop. Whether youíre a new student at UCSD or a Triton veteran, chances are you are looking for new opportunities this coming year, in the true sense of the college experience. There are several student organizations and job opportunities available at UCSD, but I think that students often overlook the GUARDIAN as a viable and worthwhile extracurricular experience while theyíre here.
It is again fall, which spells not only a change for you but also for the GUARDIAN. We will be hiring interested students of all commitment levels in the next few weeks to round out a staff that garners awards in every section of our paper. The returning staff has been working very hard to improve their respective areas of our independent newspaper, but why canít you be involved in this exciting and rewarding process as well?
At the beginning of my second year at UCSD, I took a chance on a change when I applied to the GUARDIAN as a news writer. My freshman year was not unlike many of yours, as it involved a lot of beer, wiffle ball and movie watching. And while I studied hard that year, I still believed that I could make a better use of my spare time to prepare me for what is to come after college. I didnít know how I wanted to make a living then and Iím not too certain I know anymore about that subject now, but what I do know is that my experience at the GUARDIAN has helped me attain real-life experience about politics, journalism, business and professionalism that will prepare me for a number of professions when I graduate.
The paper publishes twice a week and boasts a circulation of 11,000. Opportunities are available in all five sections ó news, opinion, features, hiatus and sports ó and in our copy, photography, design and graphics departments.
The news section is responsible for bringing campus and UC system news to the UCSD public. News writers will prepare stories by attending events and conducting research and interviews. The political and cultural intricacies of UCSD are a microcosmic representation of the world around us, and covering these issues at the campus level is beneficial to individuals who wish to pursue these issues in any capacity after graduation. Frequent topics covered in our news section include student government, the administration, campus events and the policy and politics of UCSD.
Opinion writers are charged with creating thoughtful pieces about everything from affirmative action to the European Union. Important student issues covered in our news section are often opened up to debate in our opinion pages, where writers put research and writing talent to the test to best convey their perspective.
The features section is probably the hardest to define, but it is comprised of stories essential to the UCSD community member and the general college student.
Hiatus is our arts and entertainment section. The hiatus staff brings San Diego and college culture to you through film and music reviews, event previews and numerous other upcoming attractions in the area.
Our sports section is your number one source for the latest information on the Triton sports teams. Writers will cover UCSD sporting events that happen locally and other San Diego sports happenings.
Copy readers proofread stories before they go onto the layout for design. Copyreaders should be proficient in English grammar and knowledgeable in Associated Press (AP) style.
Photographers are responsible for accepting assignments from section editors and keeping the paper visually appealing with action-packed photos that give the GUARDIAN reader a more descriptive feeling of the event reported.
The GUARDIAN is also looking for layout designers, who use Quark software to collaborate with section editors to make the paper flow visually and easily for the reader.
Graphics department illustrators assist section editors by preparing illustrations and infographs that add character to the paperís design and detail to an article.
There are many opportunities this year and all jobs vary in time commitments. The GUARDIAN staff will be out on Library Walk this week, so stop by and ask us some questions. We will also be holding a recruitment meeting this Friday, Sept. 26 at the GUARDIAN office on the second floor of the Student Center. If you are looking for a change this year, I highly recommend a spot with the GUARDIAN to be a very rewarding experience. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions. Otherwise, I hope to see any and all interested parties on Friday.
