I stumbled into the newsroom my second year at Mills, ready to nervously pitch a story about an ongoing political fight to save eucalyptus trees in the hills and leave right after the meeting. I ended up staying for three years.
I’ve spent early mornings and spent entire nights at many different desks in this center for campus news, blasting Prince, transcribing interviews and organizing the structure of my articles.
All of my Monday and Tuesday nights for the past three years have gone to The Campanil, where we gathered around a rectangle table filled with leftover snacks and disheveled papers to discuss campus news and news that is bigger than our campus but still intimately affects all of us.
There was even a brief moment when I practically lived in this office, grappling with a housingless situation, the newsroom my only source of stability, with the Rothwell 157 key being the only ring on my keychain.
In reflecting on the news that I’ve experienced and processed during my four years at Mills, it has allowed me to analyze our place in journalism, and the impact we may have. If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that everyone should take a journalism class, and learn the ethics of journalism. I value deeply the many things Sarah Pollock has taught me along with my colleagues at The Campanil about bringing truth to power– which have lit up the journalism bug in me.
What I didn’t expect from Sarah’s journalism class was real-lifefe test of bringing truth to power.
The past two years of budget cuts and damage to our department under the Financial Stabilization Plan have led to tense late-night meetings in the Campanil office, deliberating why exactly a student newspaper is important, and why cuts to student journalism is a trend across the country and internationally.
I am upset by how little this institution has supported this integral part of the campus community. This is a grave disservice to many students on campus, during a time when journalism and access to transparent and truthful information is absolutely crucial.
Through all the troubles The Campanil has gone though, it’s been a powerful experience to work in collaboration with the wonderful minds of the Campanil staff. I’m consistently proud and amazed by the content that the Campanil staff has put out in the time I’ve been here; through all the stress and frustration, I would not have wanted to spend it any other way.
