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[School Assignment] :: Column
Apr. 4th, 2003 02:54 pmJOUR 303 Column - Journalism Program
April 04, 2003
It's a frustrating thing, really.
It's that realization that your school's department may soon cease to exist. It's that realization that your education you've been paying for is "cutting edge for the 1970s." It's that realization that your school can't, or won't, put into your department what it takes to make it better.
As rumors bounce around the halls of the Reed McDonald building, the fate of the journalism department hasn't been sealed yet. Will it indeed be shut down? Will it change? Will it finally be improved?
In a perfect world, the department would finally receive the face-lift it so desperately needs. More staff would be added. More courses would be offered. More respect would be given.
But this is not a perfect world, and in reality the chances of it being shut down are too large to ignore.
It saddens me to realize this.
For me the choice was not so much who had the best journalism program as it was the fact that I'd made the decision so many years before that I would not go anywhere but Texas A&M University. However, for other students this is not the case.
The fact that journalism is offered is a great draw for high school graduates to Texas A&M. Last year there were around 950 students in the journalism program. That's not a number to be ignored.
Some of these students are like me, and would be at Texas A&M with or without a journalism program. They would simply be majoring in a similar field. However, most would find their way to other schools.
Even as the student body is growing, and caps on admissions are constantly being discussed, the hard truth is that students bring money. And money is exactly the issue that could seal the fate for the journalism program.
Current and former students need to band together to not only save the program but to improve it. Former students can endow the college. Current students can start an internal campaign to show how important the program is to the university.
The journalism program has the unique tools of The Battalion and the Aggieland on its side. The power of the press has been proven time and time again. It's now time to turn that power on itself.
Things seem dour, and the end seems so close. But it's not here yet. We've sat back for too long. Now is the time to stand up and fight. The frustration that is felt should be used for good, and the journalism program should be saved and improved.
April 04, 2003
It's a frustrating thing, really.
It's that realization that your school's department may soon cease to exist. It's that realization that your education you've been paying for is "cutting edge for the 1970s." It's that realization that your school can't, or won't, put into your department what it takes to make it better.
As rumors bounce around the halls of the Reed McDonald building, the fate of the journalism department hasn't been sealed yet. Will it indeed be shut down? Will it change? Will it finally be improved?
In a perfect world, the department would finally receive the face-lift it so desperately needs. More staff would be added. More courses would be offered. More respect would be given.
But this is not a perfect world, and in reality the chances of it being shut down are too large to ignore.
It saddens me to realize this.
For me the choice was not so much who had the best journalism program as it was the fact that I'd made the decision so many years before that I would not go anywhere but Texas A&M University. However, for other students this is not the case.
The fact that journalism is offered is a great draw for high school graduates to Texas A&M. Last year there were around 950 students in the journalism program. That's not a number to be ignored.
Some of these students are like me, and would be at Texas A&M with or without a journalism program. They would simply be majoring in a similar field. However, most would find their way to other schools.
Even as the student body is growing, and caps on admissions are constantly being discussed, the hard truth is that students bring money. And money is exactly the issue that could seal the fate for the journalism program.
Current and former students need to band together to not only save the program but to improve it. Former students can endow the college. Current students can start an internal campaign to show how important the program is to the university.
The journalism program has the unique tools of The Battalion and the Aggieland on its side. The power of the press has been proven time and time again. It's now time to turn that power on itself.
Things seem dour, and the end seems so close. But it's not here yet. We've sat back for too long. Now is the time to stand up and fight. The frustration that is felt should be used for good, and the journalism program should be saved and improved.
