Auf Wiedersehen
“Don’t f--- up.”
Those were the parting words of the outgoing editor-in-chief last spring, before I officially gave my mind, body and soul up to this paper in exchange for long hours and a small paycheck.
All in all, I’d like to think I didn’t. Despite being hated by almost every group on campus at one time or another (which, to be honest, always gives me a little thrill), in my opinion, this is the best place to work on campus.
I’m leaving college with a useful set of skills I would have never earned in a classroom. Working for any newspaper, you get an inside look at events and the people you’re covering. Sometimes, it’s not pretty – I watched the Title IX charade last spring, when the Board of Visitors spent an entire day pretending to listen to students and parents protest the elimination of 10 varsity sports, only to read from a typed statement at the meeting’s finale, informing them that no compromise would be made.
I sat in on another BOV session last spring and witnessed the member in charge of on-campus student life ask what a JAC Card was. And as far as getting any information from the university higher-ups, I can tell you this: all roads lead to Don Egle.
I watched as the Student Government Association and Brandon Eickel self-imploded over his plagiarized campaign platform fiasco, giving me my first taste of media-government relations.
I met Desmond Tutu, Ehud Olmert, Cornel West and Julian Bond. I managed a staff of 12 editors with Evan, my managing editor without whom I would have died, and am no longer intimidated to call Linwood Rose’s office.
I’m a little relieved to no longer have to deal with some things that go with a student newspaper – the writers who have never written before, the inability of JMU students to comprehend that we cover news, not functions to “raise awareness” about whatever the cause of the day is, people who insist The Breeze blows and yet forget that we are full-time students working a full-time job — but I know I’m going to miss those phone calls from Evan, informing me of the latest news that came across the scanner he’s always sporting on his hip.
So to my protégé, Tim Chapman, I say: Don’t f--- up. And raise hell. That’s what we’re here for.
Mary Frances Czarsty
editor-in-chief
Life is all about change, old friend
It’s all come down to this. For the past four years I’ve done everything I can to make this publication in your hands today a bit better than it was before. I’ve served my time here as a photographer, photo editor and managing editor.
I’m a photojournalist at heart and I’ve seen everything from shootings and car accidents to the joy of graduation. I’ve been to more sporting events than I can count and have learned the wonders of waterproofing a camera during a torrential downpour. I’ve been frisked by the secret service and have stood in the same room as the President of the United States. I’ve been assaulted while trying to capture meaningful storytelling images and I’ve also been hugged by those who I’ve been able to help with an image.
Through the years I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing people. Some have gone on to bigger and better things and some still have some more time here at JMU. I’d like to thank the wonderful SMAD professors for all their knowledge and guidance over the years and my girlfriend, Sarah, for putting up with me all the times that I’ve run out the door to cover breaking news. I couldn’t do it without her support.
I’ve put so much effort into this publication that sometimes it’s difficult to think about what I’ll do when it’s finally over. There have been many times that staying here until all hours of the night has left me physically and mentally exhausted, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Whatever you do at JMU or after graduation, give it everything you can. You won’t regret it later.
Evan Dyson
managing editor
Roses are red, violets are blue... Matt McGovern, we’re going to miss you
On our first day of Breeze training, while teaching us how to place photos on pages, our predecessor Rachana Dixit spun around in her seat and verbally accosted former sports editor Brian Hansen for a comment he made with a stream of profanities so inventive our jaws collectively dropped.
The duo bickered back and forth without missing a beat. The fight lasted for about three minutes before they turned to their respective desks and Rachana explained to us that the news and sports sections have a long-standing tradition of fighting.
Not ones to turn our backs on tradition, we tried to keep the feud going. We tried to come up with insults and come backs worthy of Dominic and Rachana’s legacies, but we quickly realized we would never be able to keep the grudge going – and not because our vocabularies aren’t colorful enough nor our metaphors rich enough… it was because of a certain assistant sports editor.
To some he may be overlooked at first glance, most people immediately notice the more vocal and aggressive half of the sports section, who could have easily provoked the news/sports rivalry and turned it into a war of epic proportion. But, we were drawn to strong and silent man of mystery. Besides, we knew the sports editor’s heart belonged to another.
Like a white knight, dressed entirely in white, he gallantly strode in to the newsroom and slayed the last hope of animosity toward sports that resided in our hearts, replacing it with burning desire.
Our love affair with Matthew David McGovern was unavoidable. And even though no one predicted it on the trident chart, he won us over with his cunning headlines and creative leads.
We tried (subtly) to make our affections known. But come Valentine’s Day we could stay silent no longer. We decorated his desk from ceiling to floor with shiny red hearts, streamers, balloons, confetti and candy in traditional pink and red for the holiday. We’re not sure if he ever knew it was us, but if he did he never let on. We wouldn’t be surprised if he figured it out, it takes a man of genius to use his laptop as an iPod while walking down Port Republic Road.
Between his brains and his brawn, we’re beaten. Our beating hearts belong to our beloved. Will you go to the formal with us?
Love,
Kaleigh Maher & Ashley Hopkins
news editors
Dear everyone who doesn’t read The Breeze but still picks it up for the Sudoku,
We are — well, were — the most important people who worked at The Breeze during the 2007-08 school year. Why, you ask? One word: Sudoku. Yes indeed, we are the brilliant minds that are responsible for downloading and placing the Sudoku and crossword puzzles on the page. You can stop applauding now, we know and understand why you’re so grateful to us. To put it quite simply, we’re the reason that you survived that pesky philosophy class at 8 a.m. on Mondays. We’re also responsible for typing up the police log, which means, yes, we get to see who gets arrested and that’s pretty cool. Don’t worry, we won’t rat you out to your mom for getting written up for sending threatening text messages at 8 p.m. on a Wednesday (true story).
But enough about us, let’s talk about you. We’ve heard that you have some beef with us. A little bird told us that there might be a Facebook group called “The Breeze: Making Students Dumber One Article at a Time.” Members of this group are also prominent in distinguished organizations such as “JMU Rules Because Our Beer Is Free,” “JMU: We pregame like you party” and last, but not least, the good brothers of the “Delta Chi Fraternity.”
Comments in the group range from digs at our news section’s apparently “biased” headlines and reporting to those who spend their days circling our grammatical errors. This hurts us. Why, you ask? Well, the little-known copy section is responsible for editing the paper for both style and grammar. Therefore, these digs wound us to the very core. We spend the majority of our Wednesdays and Sundays poring over important articles about campus organizations doing revolutionary things to raise awareness for certain devastating diseases and reviews of avant-garde art exhibits and groundbreaking Theatre II shows. And to think, we do this for the love of editing as well as for below minimum wage per hour. We are truly martyrs for the editorial cause.
Therefore, we beseech you, on the behalf of next year’s intrepid editors: please be nice. Instead, why don’t you do something different? Think outside of the box instead of putting on another 5K for your sorority, write a letter to the editor and really stick it to us or simply e-mail us and start writing for The Breeze. If you feel that strongly about our content, be a part of it!
And for God’s sake, get the hell off Facebook.
Bear hugs and sloppy kisses,
Kelly Conniff & Shelly Neel
copy editors
You’ve seen the work, now see the artists
Over the past several years, you have all, without exception, enjoyed the art work of The Breeze. We’ve made you laugh, we’ve made you smile and throughout all that we’ve maintain our modesty. That’s because we rock at what we do. Whether the article required an illustration implying fellatio or a fake ID, we accomplished it, and we’re finishing on top (that’s what she said).
We know that may be hard to handle, but we’re the Art Department: we make it graphic. We’ve created mazes for you, and made your mouths water with pictures of delicious cookies. You’ve seen our names everywhere, but rarely our faces. We are The Art Corner, and we run this joint! No matter how hard it was, we worked until everyone was satisfied (she said that too!).
So keep enjoying the inappropriate clip art that we produce and the deviant nature of our “photo illustrations.” We promise that we won’t quit, even when we’re in the real world (that’s what she said…again?)
So long,
Aaron Stewart & the infamous Lauren Pack
photo editor & art director
