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In September of 2008 I attended the fall orientation for the Accent. Although I had been a student at ACC for about six months by then, I had yet to participate in any student activities.
When I heard about the opportunity to be able to contribute to a newspaper, I was pretty excited. I had been on my high school's newspaper and missed being able to write.
Fast-forward to nine months later and my column for the Accent, Redress of Grievances, is ending.
I took the name of my column from the line in the First Amendment, which is the holy grail to anyone in the newspaper business. We as United States citizens have the right to be able to say what we want, and that is a right that I think is seldom used effectively.
Now that I am graduating from ACC, this 12th column will be last. As I became Campus Editor with Accent, I became increasingly more involved and concerned with the issues we as ACC students face.
School is not merely just a place where classes are held. It is a melting pot of activities, controversy, hopes, disappointments, inspirations and hard work. I am glad that I took the opportunity to get out of my shell and try something that ACC had to offer.
In researching this column, it appears that most writers take the time to thank people who have had an impact on their writing at their paper. Who am I to buck tradition?
I would first like to thank Matt Connolly, the newspaper adviser here. He has given me a greater regard for the amount of tedious effort that goes into writing (edits, edits, more edits), has never failed to correct me when I did something wrong (passive verbs, then vs. than, check AP style) and is amazingly good at what he does. He keeps his ears open to the suggestions that all the editors make and gives pertinent and practical feedback, and I highly respect his opinions.
Sarah Neve, the editor-in-chief, I remember from when I wasn't on staff last semester. She is very well-versed in the most effective ways to write an editorial. As the writer of all the staff editorials (I highly recommend you check them out if you haven't already), she clearly knows her stuff. She cares enough about what writers put in their articles to give honest feedback, and she is never patronizing. This, combined with her incessant need for coffee and great taste in shoes, makes her awesome.
Alma Hernandez is my favorite person to mess with here in the office. As the photo editor of the paper, I have no idea what she does, or even if she does anything at all. But I do know that the pictures in the paper always look great, so I guess she must be working when she is in the office giving me the evil eye and putting her earphones in her ear the second I say something.
Speaking of having no idea what they do, Jana Lelek and Chris Scott, our layout people, are amazing. I give them an idea of what I want, and, although I speak gibberish with the ideas, they seem to understand gibberish as well as being fabulously talented. As an aside, Chris is definitely the sweetest guy in the place and has the patience of an angel when I tell him there has been a change of plans.
And this brings me to David Rodriguez, our entertainment editor. David amazes me with his ability to write so intelligently and with so much detail consistently in every single issue. He doesn't speak much, but whenever he talks, I love to listen because he almost always will enlighten me.
For the staff writers, photographers, and illustrators, I really appreciate you. We wouldn't have a paper without you. You are our nuts and bolts. Although I will not mention anyone by name, because the contributors change from issues to issue, we do have a group of y'all that I call "our old reliables" because of your constant devotion to our paper, and you know who you are.
Working on the Accent has been more than just merely educational, humorous and a chance to get my writing published. For me, it has become a chance to develop more experience. Although people may not like everything I write, I know that at least I am writing. At least I am giving it a go. I encourage every student to remember that you have a voice and that you deserve to be heard.
~30~
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