Fuse editor glad she never quit, feels bad for empty threats

Bryan Bergeron, I owe you an apology.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into the day you called me during the Fall 2010 semester and asked if I wanted to join the editorial board of Cardinal Points. There are times when I have said I should have turned down the offer, fulfilled my one Cardinal Points credit and gone on to have a normal sleep schedule over the next two years. And I have cursed your name and that fateful phone call repeatedly during the times when I realized that getting sleep that night was just not possible. For that, I am sorry.

Granted, I usually say those things at 6 a.m. Thursday mornings when I’m sleep deprived, hungry and know I have at least another ten hours of work ahead of me. Tim Horton’s doesn’t open until 7:30, and that’s rough for me. Once I’ve had some sleep, coffee and I pick up the paper Friday morning and see all of our hard work in print, it is totally worth it — missed AP style errors and all.

The truth is that phone call came at a perfect time in my college career. I was in a terrible relationship, I had no idea what I was going to do with the journalism degree I was half-heartedly earning and I was growing to be disquietly apathetic toward every facet of my life. Cardinal Points was the pick-me- up I needed.

The genuine passion the members of editorial board and our adviser Shawn Murphy have for this publication, and for journalism in general,  is a precious rarity. For the past two years I’ve watched my teammates tirelessly dive after every tip, tidbit or comment they felt would lead to information the Plattsburgh State community needed to know. I’ve seen editors put their friendships, jobs and reputations on the line, simply because they felt pursuing a story, or challenging a standard was the right thing to do. They don’t do it because they want catchy headlines or because they want Cardinal Points to win another award, they do it because they have an insatiable desire to know the truth and to make sure the community knows it as well. 

The hardest challenge for me as a member of e-board was to match that passion. Despite what my eye-rolls may have implied whenever I couldn’t understand why some of you were so flustered about something, e-board, I feel so lucky to have worked with all of you over the last few years.

I’m itching to mention you all individually and share a sentiment or a funny moment, but there isn’t room in the allotted space they gave me to do so. I am happy to report I do have at least one with each and every one of you and I’m laughing out loud at my desk thinking about them, so thanks to all of you. Especially to contributing writer Steph Winter, who wrote a beautiful movie review that one time. Without your unwavering support and patience I might have really quit Cardinal Points all of those times I jokingly threatened to.

I’m ashamed to admit that some of those times I was not joking. The truth is Cardinal Points can be very stressful, but that is what makes it so gratifying. Every week I was able to hold in my hands the product of my sweat and tears as well as watch other students read it. Please keep that in mind when things get rough, staff writers. E-board may come up with ideas for content and present your work in a pretty package, but at the end of the day, the paper is comprised of your homework. I encourage you to stay motivated and continue to set a high precedent for future Cardinal Points members.  I know from personal experience that sometimes things like sending emails to sources immediately after the general meeting seem tiring, but feeling confident in the work you put out, work that anyone on campus can see, is worth the extra effort. Great job this year and good luck in the future.