Budget crisis, recall election, fires, strikes, storms, floods, destruction and devastation; welcome to California, 2003.

We Californians have had a tiring year, to say the least, filled with chaos, confusion, and conflict and most of what we’ve suffered this year will more than likely lap over into 2004.

As the news editor of this paper this semester, I’ve had to constantly stay aware of the problems California has had to endure, such as; the budget crisis and how it’s affected EC students and faculty; the fires and the destruction they’ve caused, not only to homes and vegetation but also to people’s lives and dreams; the grocery and MTA strikes and how they’ve caused so much inconvenience and trouble for us all, and last, but not least, the three-ring circus known as “The Recall” we’ve all had to endure and participate in.

When this semester began I wasn’t too enthused by the fact I was given the position of news editor of this paper, but because I love the Union and everything it has taught me, I took the position and told myself I would do it to the best of my ability.

However, because I have been trapped in an anal state since the age of three, I have turned into an annoying, pretentious, anal retentive, self absorbed perfectionist, which has led me to believe my ability wasn’t what this paper deserved.

I personally believed that I didn’t have the desire and drive needed for this position, therefore, I didn’t feel I would do the best job possible. I believed I didn’t have a newsworthy mind, which led me to make several mistakes in the way I used my news judgment.

Recently, I have taken some time to analyze why I feel the way I do and discovered that sometimes it’s not always about being the best and doing the best job ever, but sometimes it’s about doing the best that you can and getting what you can out of it.

Having to keep up with all this news has not only been hard, but it has also been mentally draining. Before I became news editor I was able to choose what news I wanted to be involved in, but now I had an obligation to my readers to cover all aspects.

One thing I had the opportunity to do as news editor was go to Simi Valley during the fires and take photos and report what was going on.

I saw several men, women and children with tears in their eyes and dazed looks across their faces. It was almost impossible for me to separate myself from what was going on around me in order to report the news.

For the first time, I couldn’t do my job. I didn’t want to get in peoples faces and take their picture or ask them questions, so instead I stood back and became the observer. As the observer, I felt guilty and somewhat ashamed, because here I was gawking at these people’s losses.

In the end, I did what I had to do, but later came to the conclusion that news reporting is a difficult job and won’t be a position I will apply for again anytime soon.

However, the knowledge I have gained as news editor was worth it all. I now have more respect for the news, especially for those who go through the trouble of reporting it to our society.