The end of the semester – and an era in life

I’VE MARKED MANY ends, but the end that I’m marking today is difficult to embrace because it marks a very significant point of my life and career as a journalist.

I still remember the first time I walked in The Collegian as an editor of the Uhuru na Umoja, the African-American supplement. It was four years ago. I was a freshman from Kenya majoring in computer science and I had only lived in the United States for more than a year. I entered the newsroom, the environment was intimidating and I thought the people there were giving me strange looks.

A bunch of little haters, I remember thinking.

But after getting to know them, I concluded they were fine people who just didn’t know how to relate to me — I think my accent had a lot to do with it.

I learned from them the art of reporting and they also influenced me to change my major to journalism, which led me to numerous memorable moments. Of those moments, few standout for their uniqueness and significance. The Campus Peace and Civil Liberties Coalition provided me one such memory. If you were not here last spring, you missed out on one of the most dramatic student protests staged on campus in many years.

After a series of demonstrations that involved mocking University President John Welty, the group staged a 48-hour hunger strike in front of his office at Thomas Administration Building, protesting what it called the use of undercover officers to infiltrate its meeting. For two days the group pitched tents, sung and beat drums on the lawn in front of the president’s office, turning the usually clean, quiet area into a festive ghetto. It will take a long time for another student organization to match such boldness.

Last spring’s Stacy Johnson-Klein’s drama will also go down as one of the most captivating stories I ever participated in covering as a student reporter. The story about the Fresno State women’s basketball coach with a celebrity stature captivated the local media for more than a month. But the climax came when Welty in a press conference unleashed a laundry list of reasons for her termination, which included endangering the life of a player, engaging in unprofessional conduct and creating a hostile work environment, in one of the most candid press conferences Fresno State has ever seen.

The Lab School fire in September 2003 also marked a significant moment in my life as a student reporter.

At around 2 a.m., arsonists burned down several rooms in one of the oldest building in the school, causing about $1.5 million in losses and affecting more than 1,000 students. The fire caused the relocation of the Learning Resource Center and the McNair Graduate Programs to their current location in an annex near Peter’s Building. The burned buildings have already been replaced but there is no word about the arsonists.

Individuals have also contributed a great deal in enriching my experience as a reporter. Fiery preacher Anthony Munoz and his nemesis Fresno State student Michelle Colvin are some examples. This semester, the two managed to provoke an emotional debate about hate and religion. The debate rages on to this day in our Web site’s discussion forum.

At The Collegian I learned to appreciate deadlines, analyze news, respect my sources and balance all that with coursework.

But of all the lessons I have learned none is more important than appreciating my readers and providing them with important information and an opportunity to send feedback through our editorial pages or the Web site.

And after serving in different capacities at The Collegian, and one year as editor in chief, it’s time for me to welcome a new team and say ahsante [thank you] for this wonderful experience.

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