The Table is the place to be if you̢۪re in band, choir or orchestra. Veneer and a solid finish have kept this music department hangout spot looking good through the years, and, owing to the erratic scheduling of music classes, there̢۪s almost always good company to be found here. The Table has a reputation for being the place for music majors to waste time. At least once in my four years, department faculty posted flyers around it reminding students to practice once in a while.

Why it didn̢۪t make the cut: I knew too many people in the department to write a solid piece on The Table without interviewing a few friends.

I love jazz, but a college radio station is the wrong place to listen to it. College radio should, to my mind, cater to the needs and whims of students, rather than those of jazz addicts in the Fresno area not numerous enough to warrant a viable commercial jazz station in the area.

Why it didn̢۪t make the cut: Before I could flesh out this opinion, I was fired from my volunteer disc jockey gig at our same station. An awkward conflict of interest, if ever there was one.

What̢۪s up with Sigma Chi̢۪s Crosswatch? I saw pictures of it in a YouTube video a friend showed me, and it looks like it involves pelting pledges with paint in front of a giant cross-shaped Chi. Though sources there would neither confirm nor deny that such a ritual exists, that this activity is on YouTube, given a name, and that the pictures appear to be outside their house is proof enough for me to feel no qualms about mentioning it in the school paper. Some blurry people appear to be in pain, and others appear to be in good spirits.

Why it didn̢۪t make the cut: Sources declined to be named, and speculating about potential hazing would be in poor taste. Let̢۪s not even mention how the last time we ran anything not-positive about any Greek-letter organization, whole stacks of The Collegian ended up in the trashcan of a ladies̢۪ restroom near our office. Poor taste, indeed.

Imagine this headline: Cafeteria Constantly Replaces Spoons. As a long-graduated tipster had it, the cafeteria went through a crate of silverware every week. Dorm-bound students must really need cheap cutlery.

Why it didn’t make the cut: Though I’m fascinated by petty theft — I’ll say no more than that I’ve heard of Limewire — I figured that Fresno State students would have about the same level of interest in it as they do national politics.

Fresno State Coke addicts have long found other suppliers, so I had a great angle for an otherwise average story. I wanted to write something for a class about why Fresno State has its Pepsi contract, and it turned out Coca-Cola wasn̢۪t even interested when prompted to give an offer. That̢۪s about as far as I got.

Why it didn̢۪t make the cut: Brant Daniels was shot as I was about to finish up my floundering Pepsi story, so I dropped the feature and wrote instead about Daniels̢۪ vigil in the free speech area.

“Mijo Ladyâ€Â Molly of the dorm cafeteria — the nicest person you’d ever meet — had her hours increased shortly after the publication of an apparently popular profile I wrote about her in my first semester of the journalism major. Whether or not it’s true, she credited the publication of that profile with her getting a full-time position.

Why it didn̢۪t make the cut: I̢۪m not one to brag, though I had been proud of that profile. Except for two outrageous errors in reporting that I found out about much later, and will carry with me to my grave. I didn̢۪t feel like bringing them back up.