How I became inspired to go back to school for journalism
This column was originally published in the Laney Tower Print edition under the title “Tales from the Editor” on December 6, 2018. This was the second-to-last print semester before Laney College renovated the program, completely updating the room, computers, and website to digital—our professor, Burt Dragin, who had been teaching journalism since the 1970s, retired in 2019.
Unfortunately, our other teacher, Scott Strain, passed away in 2020 during the pandemic. I want to dedicate this recently updated post to both Burt and Scott, who taught me the importance of staying true to researching a story’s facts and ensuring I check every inch of the copy before publishing. This is why I have reviewed my posts again to ensure they are done correctly in their memory so that I may do them and make myself proud. I’d also like to thank all of the journalism students I worked with at the Laney Tower, who stayed in touch with me, and some who I see have moved on, graduated, and become great journalists. They are the ones who pushed me to tell my story, as they were so proud of who I was and the stories I told. I am always proud of them.
Middle pictures: Scott Strain (Left) and photojournalist Saskia Hatvany (right) play around after cleaning out a drawer full of old phones. Right end picture: Burt Dragin reviews copy in front of one of the old, very slow computers in the old Laney Tower journalism room at Laney Community College before it was renovated.
Swaying and ready to attack, four men dressed in grey sweat suits with white bandanas covering their mouths stood in front of me as they punched their right fists into their left hands. I gripped my camera in anticipation as a loud bang and smoke went off next to us.
The men’s furrowed brows deepened as they watched an estimated 200 black-clad anti-fascist protesters turn and run towards one guy with a MAGA hat. Now, all that was left between the four men and me was a flimsy orange police fence.
They soon plunged over the fence. One attempted to knock me down but missed as I ducked, swiveled and maintained my camera recording as his cohort punched a counter-protester. The four men then zig-zagged through the crowd in Martin Luther King Civic Center Park in Berkeley on April 15, 2017, moving like offensive-minded football players. I later learned that these men I had recorded were part of a well-known group of white nationalists that goes by the name of Rise Above Movement (R.A.M.).
That moment in Berkeley ushered me into the world of journalism.
The footage I recorded was recently purchased by PBS and ProPublica for a Frontline special called “Documenting Hate: Charolottesville” The footage also helped to identify some of the white nationalists who had attacked counter-protesters at the violent “Unite the Right” rally on August 12, 2017, wherein the downtown mall of Charlottesville, Va, counter-protester Heather Heyer was murdered when a motorist purposefully drove his vehicle into a crowd of peacefully protesting anti-fascists.
In my first semester at Laney College, I documented one of the most viral videos of the year and I will probably never hear the end of it. I filmed Jennifer Schulte, aka “BBQ Becky,” at Lake Merritt on April 30, 2018.
That afternoon, Schulte spent over two hours calling the police, multiple times, on two black men for barbecuing with charcoal at Lake Merritt. Those who know about the video often introduce me as the “BBQ Becky Slayer.”
This semester is my second one at Laney and the first as the editor-in-chief of the Laney Tower. We are not in the administrative building, the Laney Tower, as many assume. Many students do not even know Laney has a newspaper, much less where the newsroom is on campus.
Not only does Laney have a newspaper, but the paper also covers stories for the entire Peralta Community College District.
Being an editor brings a constant feeling of dread and anxiety for approaching deadlines. Gathering writers, photographers, and designers to complete deadlines is like herding cats. There have been plenty of setbacks this semester, and many times I believed we could not complete the newspaper on time. For example, the construction at the beginning of the semester prevented the staff from entering our newsroom until the first Friday of the semester.
That gave us one weekend to turn around and produce an issue when we usually have almost two weeks to prepare. We are also still waiting for new computers that we desperately need, as we are working with two so old computers that barely support the outdated version of InDesign we are forced to use for our page layout.
Despite all of that, we have accomplished a surprising number of high-quality stories, design, and photography. Whatever the reason that brings people into the Newspaper Production class, they have their own unique stories and passions for pursuing the world of media and journalism.
As journalists, we understand the power of information and media. The First Amendment includes “Freedom of Speech,” protecting a free press that informs the public of more than just news that makes them feel good, but news of political corruption and the problems that exist in our society.
Maybe that is why it is such a thankless job. Those who have plenty to hide, we chase, as we hear claims of “fake news” while the public has little interest.
“Tell me a story I want to hear, not one that adds to my burdens,” seems to be the theme of the massively misinformed public we have today. Most people agree there is a problem with our media consumption, but do they understand why that is?
I am hopeful. Times are changing fast. People are finding new ways to consume news stories and stay aware while organizing communities, so who can tell what our future will bring? All we can do is continue to expose the true nature of our society and hope that it makes a difference.
Until next year, the Laney Tower staff hopes you have a great Winter break. When we all come back for the Spring semester, be ready! We will hit the ground running to bring our Peralta community information that can keep it informed, viable and intact.
