Through my position in Student Senate, I planned an event called Can WU Duet (which was a success). Naturally, the newspaper did a story about the event. I wondered how they would handle it, considering the event was a day before it was on campus so a preview wouldn't work because the event would have happened and a follow up would be pretty late. Their solution was to write the story as if it already happened. Except a winner wasn't included.
Although I was a little upset, I thought it was still good to have exposure so I moved on. As I read the article, my anger returned. Because the event hadn't happened, there were many errors, including how many groups performed (two dropped out due to illness) and the spelling of a judge's name (she graduate last may from the Department of Communication). Also, like I mentioned before, they included how people voted, but not who won.
On top of all that, my major was wrong and my co-chair from my committee in Student Senate had an incorrect title. To me, it's lazy journalism. As a writer for University Relations, I understand deadlines, but I also know that checking your facts is crucial. When something is published, there should never be speculation that information is inaccurate.
This may seem like minor details and like I'm overreacting, but this isn't the first time an article about Senate or a Senate event has contained errors. I don't think it's a vendetta, but I also don't understand how they can't check what they're reporting before they publish the information.
This all happened while I was in class, trying to work on a grants writing assignment. My mood was extremely negative and I couldn't focus on the task at hand. We talk a lot in class about how negativity makes you less creative, and I experienced that this morning.
In fact, every time I think about the paper I'm upset and it puts a damper on my day. I'm not blaming the paper for that, it's more the fact that I hate when Senate is misrepresented in any form because I feel it reflects badly both on me as well as the entire body of students involved.
As I write this blog, I'm reminding myself that while the article wasn't to my liking, the event was a success and that's what mattered. My hard work paid off into an event that was well-attended and much enjoyed. The article can't change that.
I have a lot of writing to do this weekend, and instead of thinking about what went wrong, I'm going to focus on the good things. It's amazing that just by writing about the success of the event, I feel more creative and ready to do my work.
And yes, I waited until the last second to do this and it may not be as long, but at the same time I'm actually applying concepts from class to a real life event instead of fabricating something to get the assignment done.
Bows and Sparkles,
Chelsea
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