Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1987)
he said. “But the best part of the job was getting the paycheck. ” Sports play a big part at A&M, and The Battalion's sports writers work to stay on top of things. Tammy Hedgpeth, a senior journalism major, said it’s not always easy covering sports as a woman. “We all have our choice as to what we want to cover, ” she said. “We aren’t divided up into covering men’s or women’s sports. But the Office of Sports Information at Texas A&M won’t let me into the men’s locker room. ” Hedgpeth said although this could be considered discrimination, it has never stopped her from getting a story. “Being a sports writer is really enjoyable, ” she said. “And I don’t mind not being able to go into the men’s locker room. I’m a fighter, and I’ll always get my story. ” Getting the story is only part of covering an event. That’s where the photographers come in. And just like staff writers have editors, photographers have an editor too. Photo Editor Tracy Staton, a senior journalism major, said being photo editor involves a lot of faith in her staff. “When I was a photographer, I was responsible for any bad photo I might take, ” she said. “As editor, I have to rely on other people to take good pictures for me. I had to learn how to motivate other people to do a good job for me, rather than motivate myself. ” Staton said her job requires good communication with the city editors. “On Sunday I get copies of the stories for the next week from the city editors, ” she said. ”1 decide which ones I want to assign and those go to the photographers. ” Staton said her photographers also have to shoot a feature photo one day a week, but just because they shoot a picture doesn’t mean it will run in the paper. “If I get a feature photo from a staff member that is not very good, ” she said, “and I have a photo submitted from a photography class or from someone at random which is better, I’ll run that one. ” Staton said she is in charge of four photographers, two part- time and two full-time. Jay Janner, a freshman journalism major and part-time photographer, said he had high school experience that helped him get a job at The Battalion as a photographer. “I was head photographer for my yearbook at my high school, and I worked there for two years,” he said. “So I applied in the spring of ‘87, and I was really glad to get the job. ” Janner said he likes working for The Battalion because of all the interesting experiences. “I take pictures of sporting events, and I also take feature pictures,” he said. “I enjoy getting to experience all the things that go on at A&M that I might not be able to see otherwise. I also enjoy meeting the people we do stories on. ” After reading this story, it may sound like the only way to work at The Battalion is to be a journalism major. But wait, there are more than just journalism majors in the Reed McDonald Building. Tom Reinarts, a graduate student in nuclear engineering, is The Battalion's reviewer. “I review records, movies and concerts for the paper, ” he said. “I’ve always wanted to do reviews, and I had some experience working for a radio station, so I applied. ” Reinarts said he thinks his experience will be useful, even though he isn’t going into the journalism field. “I think it will help me because it gives me a better understanding of the press, and it is important to know how the press works, ” he said. “Also, my English has improved. ” Lydia Berzsenyi, a junior math major, is At Ease assistant editor. Her job includes assisting in hiring staff writers, assigning and editing stories, laying out pages and doing some production and pasteup work. Berzsenyi said her math background helps her in her journalism work. “I didn’t major in journalism, but still wanted to learn about the field, ” she said. “And I’ve learned a lot by working on the paper, which I’ve supplemented by taking a few journalism classes. ” JTTTJJTfffJfJffffJTffffff Aggienizing Answers What do you think of The Battalion 1 . By Leslie Guy As each semester comes to a close, we reflect on our past accomplishments and mistakes. But it never fails that some people regard the past year as productive while others think things could have gone smoother. Almost everyone has an opinion about the campus publications, whether it is approval of a job well done or criticism for less than quality work. The Battalion is not excluded from these comments, and to give it’s readers an opportunity to voice their opinions about the quality of The Battalion, At Ease asked students what changes they would like to see in the newspaper in the future. The biggest complaint seems to be a scarcity of papers around campus. Junior speech communications major Steve Hagens says it would be nice if there were more distribution places for the paper. “All my classes are in Harrington and the Academic Building, and there’s no place to get a paper, ” Hagens says. “Maybe they could set up a stand between these buildings or just put some papers inside. I ride my motorcycle right to class, and the only time I get one is if I go to the MSC.” Laura Liles, a junior accounting major, says it is difficult to find a copy of The Battalion after 3 p.m. Sophomore engineering technology major Kevin Cobb says he would like to see the papers arrive earlier. “Heave at 11 a.m., so it would be nice to have a paper early, ” he says. Once students have found a copy of the newspaper, the complaints are about content and style. Sophomore aerospace engineering major Jennifer Noel is one student who sees room for improvement. “I wish they could have more articles I can relate to, ” Noel says. “Maybe they could use less government stuff and more articles about things going on here. ” Mike Quinn, a senior business major, would like to see less current event stories in The Battalion because “you’d read them in the Eagle anyway. ” “I’d like to see more articles by students like the ones on the second page, ” Quinn says. “The off-the-wall (columns) are enjoyable to read. ” Junior finance and accounting major Pat O’Neal wants The Battalion to cover more University events. “I’d like to see more short articles about things going on, ” O’Neal says. “I think they should have more conservative writers on the opinion page since this is a conservative university. ” Freshman business major Shane Arnold believes there is too much repetition in The Battalion. He dislikes reading articles about the same topic week after week. Brent Mierzwiak, a senior mechanical engineering major, would like to see the sports section carry more Southwest Conference stories. He also says letters to the editor about a specific topic should be stopped after they are old news. “I get so sick of seeing a letter written in response to a letter that is in response to another letter, ” Mierzwiak says. “That gets so old. ” Off-campus students often depend on The Battalion to inform them about campus events. They would like to see more announcements and better coverage of these events. Freshman business major Julie Goetz enjoys the paper when she can find one. “Since I live off-campus I don’t hear about everything that goes on, on campus, ” Goetz says. “I wish they would have more about upcoming events, like dances and balls. They could also do more stuff about old Ags who are presidents of corporations or successful businessmen. That would be interesting. ” Mierzwiak would like to have a specific section where students can look to leam what is going on at school. “I think it would be neat if there were a section telling students when to get pictures taken and when to register, for example,” Mierzwiak says. “This section could be in the same place every day and would tell students what they need to do. ” Amy Wagner, a senior elementary education major, would like to see more features about people and more campus news. Despite all the complaints, not everyone believes The Battalion needs to improve. Senior philosophy major Hank Henderson is pleased with the newspaper the way it is. He believes it is an improvement over the paper of the past few years which carried a “lot of ridiculous articles. ” “I think this year the world and V;. national events are being covered well,” Henderson says. “They need •£ to keep moving in that direction, but, still cover campus events. I think this ■ is already being done. ” Graduate student Ronnie Russell also thinks The Battalion is doing a > good job. ,| “Everything is informative and 'T. written well,” Russell says. “I personally have no complaints. On ( the whole, I think it is fine. ” Hagens is also pleased with The , - Battalion and At Ease, and says he -1?;;' believes it is the “best it could be for a school newspaper. ” J ■,