Sunday’s Pasadena-like temperatures in Chapel Hill reminded me why we call this semester the spring semester: because North Carolina winters are about as reliable as my landlord’s promises to remove the raccoon who has taken up residence in our ceiling.
But, in all seriousness, the spring semester is upon us and that means the second round of DTH hiring. If you’re a UNC student, and have ever thought about dabbling in journalism through writing, photography, design, copy editing, cartooning, video or other practices, you should give it a shot. Here are some timely reasons why:
1. It matters.
College media is a force for good. I’ve provided enough reasons for why I think The Daily Tar Heel is great on this blog in the past, so here’s a great example from another paper — the Daily O’Collegian at Oklahoma State. One day in early December, the O’Collegian staff got an anonymous email tip that a former student had committed a string of sexual assaults. The paper contacted to the police who, upon further investigation, found evidence suggesting that said male had committed sexual assaults in the double digits, preying on other males. Worse yet, the university knew about the case, and had not informed police. (And in a classic moment of common sense versus bureaucratic ineptitude, Capt. Randy Dickerson reminded Oklahoma State that “to attempt to justify this by saying this man is not a threat to other students is quite honestly, a huge misunderstanding of this case.”) Oklahoma State hid behind (wait for it!) the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act in declining to notify police. Without the O’Collegian, who knows how long it would have taken for this case to come to light?
2. Be a part of history.
One of the tradeoffs that accompanies being required to write a 20-page research paper for your major is an excuse to end up in Wilson Library. This happened to me last semester, and I found one of the most pleasurable ways to pass the time is look through old microfilm. The North Carolina Collection has hundreds of years of microfilm from newspapers all across the state. (I wish I had been around when microfilm had been invented, and people thought that’s how all information would be saved and retrieved for the rest of ever — with just the easy crank of a wheel!). Viewing Daily Tar Heels from way back when is a reminder of the mark one makes when contributing to a university’s intellectual and cultural history.
3. Free coffee and M&Ms, future Rosemary Street parking prospects, couch access.
Who could ask for more?
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