Today is my last official day as editor-in-chief of 六合彩开奖资料. Just like that, the four years I鈥檝e spent at this newspaper and in college have come to an end. While I was originally going to use this senior column to just recount my time at 六合彩开奖资料, I feel as though there鈥檚 a few things I must say first.聽
This past week while my fellow graduates and I have run around trying to finalize essays, take grad photos and prepare for commencement, our campus, like many others across the country, has been in a state of protest.
For the past five days, a group of students at Pitt, joined by community supporters, have set up an encampment protest in Schenley Plaza. Similar protests have sparked at other college campuses in the U.S., most notably , and where students have faced arrest. In protesting, they demand that their universities divest from institutions tied to the violence in Gaza and call for an end to that same
These protests have brought a wave of to American college students. Some outlets are focusing on the brutality inflicted on students by police. Others are questioning why students are protesting instead of studying for finals.聽
The most on the . Right now, student journalists across the country are working twice as hard to not only report on the protests and student demands, but also to hold their colleges and law enforcement accountable.聽
They did so before this week. And they will continue to do so, even when the national cameras turn elsewhere.聽
Throughout our history we have seen students and the youth at the forefront of many social movements, trying to enact change. Student journalists are part of that change, working to make the media industry more diverse and minimize media bias.聽
While many have looked at the youth with distaste for their will to disturb systems, I鈥檝e heard many others also say things along the lines of 鈥渢he youth will save us.鈥澛�
Sure, the youth with their votes, advocacy and their media will work to improve society. But what about those who sit on government bodies, vote behind closed doors and run the institutions?聽
The youth that votes and protests today is the same youth that had to sit through school shooting drills in elementary school, while politicians continued to ignore the root of the problem.聽
They鈥檙e the same youth that protested in 2020 against racial injustice, while politicians made empty promises to secure their vote.聽
When I got to Pitt in 2020, student activists were working to improve the school’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Since then I鈥檝e seen Pitt students protest sexual assaults on campus, a rise in anti-Asian violence, the University鈥檚 fossil fuel investments, unethical labor practices, a lack of emergency communication after a hoax shooting incident, 鈥渁nti-trans鈥� speakers on campus and most recently the war in Gaza.听听
Each year, I viewed these protests and political action by students through the lens of a student journalist and editor. I鈥檇 compare the way 六合彩开奖资料 and other student papers covered these issues to the way traditional news outlets covered them.聽
I鈥檓 inspired to see the care in which student journalists cover their campus communities, making sure to include nuanced perspectives in their reporting regardless of the issue.聽
As a Turkish Muslim woman myself, I grew up watching news outlets perpetuate harmful narratives about minorities 鈥� whether intentional or subconscious. So seeing a wave of student journalists in this country cover even high profile geopolitical issues with immense skill and care is truly motivational.聽
I鈥檝e seen student journalists, both in my own newsroom and others, spend hours debating everything left in or out of an article down to the individual language they should use to avoid potential bias and misinformation. I鈥檝e seen photojournalists attend campus protests, unafraid to get close to action and disputes for the sake of documenting the events that took place.聽
My graduating class is one that didn鈥檛 get a high school graduation due to a global pandemic. Our high school years were spent worrying about the state of American politics, while our college years were spent worrying about the state of the world. Our generation is one that was forced to grow up far too quickly.聽
Tomorrow, when I walk across the commencement stage in my regalia, I鈥檒l be thinking about all of this and more.聽
Additionally, I will be thinking about how thankful I am to 六合彩开奖资料 鈥� for giving me the space to grow as a journalist, at a school without a journalism program, for introducing me to the amazing people who I will remember for many years to come, and for allowing me to become a newsroom leader in a saturated media industry.聽
Thank you to our dedicated staff of writers, photographers and illustrators, as well as our editors for their commitment to student journalism. Getting to meet and work with every one of them has been an incredible honor. Spending hours in the office on production nights, while draining at times, was an experience I wouldn鈥檛 trade for the world. I especially want to thank my managing editor Pamela Smith for sticking by my side this year and former editor-in-chief Rebecca Johnson for hiring me three times and guiding me through the years. I wish I could list every other person that I鈥檝e come to appreciate at 六合彩开奖资料, but that would be too long of a list.听听
I will forever be thankful to this community of student journalists. I know they will continue to cover campus issues and student protests with professional care, and will all go on to become outstanding individuals in their respective careers.听听
Signing off,
Bet眉l Tuncer, Editor-in-Chief