A letter from the Editor in Chief

Luke Garrett / Editor in Chief / The USD Vista

Dearest The USD Vista staff and USD community:

To The USD Vista staff, few know of the work you all do. Few see the 20 hours a week you all spend interviewing, writing, editing, and designing in order to produce a weekly paper worth reading. And fewer still have seen the unique challenges of college journalism which span anywhere from awkward Aromas bump-ins with students you just covered to explicit threats from those who disliked your story. Rest assured, as Editor in Chief of The USD VistaI have had the privilege and honor to see it all. 

I have seen late nights turn into early mornings as we put the finishing touches on an Associated Students (AS) article written the day of so as to provide the campus with up-to-date news. I have watched the newsroom lead itself and step up to the task when the college admission scandal hit our campus forcing many on our news team to pick up jobs not listed in their position description. I have heard fear in student reporters’ voices as they struggled with the fact that despite the accuracy of their work, heavy criticism and potential attacks seemed inevitable on the horizon. I experienced our USD campus come to life as the accomplishments of our sports teams, the beauty of a student art exhibit, and rich stories of student activism ran through our 12-page paper. 

Better yet, your work has proved the importance of solid and consistent student journalism. AS senators and members of the public have referenced our coverage during AS senate meetings. Professors have cited our work in their classes in order to bring the issues of our campus into the classroom. And our e-newsletter, the University Dispatch, has had great viewership success. Well done The USD Vista staff, your work has not been done in vain.

To our campus community, I would be remiss if I did not mention the controversy between some members of Associated Students and The USD Vista. For better or worse this USD contention mirrored well the divisiveness between our country’s current administration and media. In many respects a tension ought to exist between government and journalism, as the former holds the greatest power and the latter has the responsibility to check that very power. My greatest hope is that the USD community has seen that we take this responsibility seriously and have done our very best to up hold it. 

In closing, thank you to all our readers. You all are the reason why our paper exists. We produce this weekly record for you. To next year’s The USD Vista staff, best of luck and stay true– this job is not easy, but well worth it.

Cheers,

Luke Garrett

Editor in Chief, 2018-2019