Elena Jarvis Jarvis, who won’t be cooking up
any gator or squirrel head stew, can be reached down on the farm at
[email protected].
This is highly irregular! In the 82-year history of the Daily
Bruin, it’s a safe bet none of its previous advisers ever
wrote a -30- column. That the current staff should agree to such a
departure is one of many qualities that endears it to me.
For almost three years, I’ve admired long-standing Daily
Bruin traditions such as the -30- columns, but more so, the
students’ ability to reassess the old, keep an open mind and
create new ways of doing business. It’s an attitude
today’s newspaper corporations could learn from.
While we’re on the subject, know that the Daily Bruin is a
“real” newspaper in every sense of the word.
Students’ efforts ““ in both the editorial and
advertising departments ““ place The Bruin among the top
echelons of university publications in terms of circulation, budget
and content. Our special relationship with UCLA and ASUCLA makes us
one of the most independent newspapers not only in the nation, but
also in the world at large.
None of this would be true without supreme dedication.
What readers can’t see amid the inevitable stupid mistakes
all media make is the passion and commitment of the writers,
editors, artists and advertising staff who put together a
publication. This is especially true at The Bruin, where stipends
don’t come close to repaying students’ devotion and
long hours.
Like all real newspapers, The Bruin has its share of office
politics and romances, too. On the first count, you have to have a
well-developed ego to withstand the public acrimony that goes with
the job. As for the latter, who outside a newsroom understands the
single-minded insanity necessary to put out a paper?
Sacrifice is the stuff of which The Bruin is made. So is open
communication and the ability to forgive and forget, which Bruin
staffers have in ample supply.
Over three decades, I’ve written for big newspapers and
small, and have never worked with a finer bunch of people. Just
like “real” journalists, these young people are driven
by idealism. Imagine, they actually think they can make a
difference!
The courage, compassion, intellect, ethics, humor, humility and
hard work they display daily heartens me, of all people ““ a
journalist toughened by 33 years of exposure to man’s
inhumanity to men … and women … and animals … and the
environment.
Be they arts writers or crime reporters, journalists learn early
to hope for the best and expect the worst. Having inherited a
fairly lousy hand from my journalistic generation, The Bruin staff
should be commended for not giving up and continuing to fight for a
better world.
Since good news is no news, media frequently portrays youth as
sociopathic lie-abouts with no moral compass and an unquenchable
thirst for durable goods. I challenge anyone who buys that line to
shadow these folks for a week.
What I like best about newspapering, what keeps me in this crazy
racket, is that journalists are not judgmental. Thus, newspapers
are magnets for outcasts and recalcitrants, the nonconformist and
pragmatist alike. Add to that mix a powerful combination of
cultural, philosophical and societal diversity and you have
what’s euphemistically called “an open forum for
discussion and debate.”
Unfortunately, too many readers want to shoot the messenger.
As I leave my position with UCLA Student Media, the 500 assorted
students who work here ““ at the Daily Bruin, Nommo, Pacific
Ties, Al-Talib, Ha’Am, La Gente, TenPercent, Fem and Bruin
Life ““ must be reminded that fingerpointers will always try
to fix the blame. At least you’re attempting to fix the
problems.
Remember, before you, through these doors, have passed a
pantheon of heroes and heroines.
They include writers such as Pulitzer Prize-winning media critic
David Shaw, pundit Harry Shearer and foreign war correspondent
Flora Lewis. There’s ’39 editor in chief Stanley Rubin
““ producer of “The President’s Analyst” and
many other TV series and feature films ““ who still drops by
to visit and is actively writing at age 85. And Fern Seizer, whose
contributions to health care for the poor and the rights of the
mentally ill in Los Angeles are legion.
Not all Daily Bruin journalists go on to careers in media,
though a surprising number do answer the calling. Yet, I submit
that anyone who works here is ready for the world in a profound
way.
Journalism, in whatever form, teaches skills a classroom cannot:
to think on your feet; to not believe everything you hear or read;
to walk among kings without losing the common touch; to suspend
judgment; to challenge preconceived notions; to stand against mob
mentality; to have convictions and the courage to change your mind
in the face of new evidence.
Although I am moving to Florida to pursue a dream of a quieter
lifestyle and book writing, my door is wide open to the students,
and now, friends, I’ve been privileged to work with here.
For anyone considering The Bruin as an extracurricular activity,
let me quote the paper’s credo ““ “Take this job
and love it.” -30-