Page 6 The Lion’s Eye Eye on Opinions April 10, 2006 Commentary: My Internship Experience W alk before vou nn. Take it slow ad cet the basics doan first. Joe Biscontini, my News W ritig rofessor, gave ne thet anucial advice the first weeks of school. I've been a writer for years, a hblossaning Jomralist, I thought, since the high school newsa - per. ‘So I gould just breeze throgh ny intermship at the local newscaper, right? Not exactly Although, my writing skills are good, I still led a Ic to leam. Now, I thought I cadld rept. I lesmed AP style to its mex ad I'm the most cacise writer I kiow. Ian'tyvet mot tog, I “asad these skills TI was leamirg, ad evential ly did leam, would ke all I needed to becare a jourral - ist. However, the fact thet college doen't prepare stu dents for the real world nece the greatest impression m me. Granted, ny education has taught me a lot of things, ny interpersaal skills, gamer, ad a few other things I can't ramarber right now. Stl, Tel - ized that I had just glided throuh school with mostly B's ad C's. In the real world, perfection is wat arts. Without perfection, without ane hundred percent accuracy, I cadld ke fired ay day. My credibility to my enplover and the comunity was at risk. Of carse, ny mejor is jomalisn, hut I realized that ro matter wet I doose to do in life, I was going to __ have to reach a high bencdmerk. My teachers hard me assigmats. I either db than an time, or I do ret. Still, Taz. When I graduate, teachers no lager will hard me syllabi or remind me of deadlines. My boss wan't do thet eitter . TTL lef £ ad free to create my oan Initia tive. No cheerleaders, ro paraits, mo teaders. The motivation to wake up an time ard to meke it to work ar to an interview will all ke an ny oan. Of corse, this all sous very scary, adwell, it an be. There were many days when I wanted to run hare and cry. I didh't want to wak ad cadldh't take the critician fron the editor. Now, at te ad, with only a few more weeks left before I finish ny intemship, I ned to leave a solid inpression ad lem asmrhas I can. I'mglad thet I've listened ad red such great sygoort. I wanted to nn, I really did. T thought I kaw it all ad it tumed ait I knew nothing. I'm still keeping my ears goen, ad pray that I'm aesorbing all of these lessas ad the words of my professors and mentors. The real wardd is closer then we thirk; just dn't forget how essy it is. Sern Arn Achilles PEN NSTATE The Lion s Eye Lions Eve Editorial Board: Editor in Chief: Andrew Armenag Walter Managing Editor: Sharon Ann Achilles Photo Editor: Frank Joseph Friday Associate Editor: David Patrick Niven Hardisonj Copy Editor: Daniel Robert Peter Delaney Layout Manager: Gerald Mark Dungan Features Editor: Michael Alloysius Bruder News Editor: Amar Eshwar Ganti Contributing Staff: John Miller, Michelle Roche STAFF ADVISOR: Professor Lynn Keyser Contact the Lions Eye: saal92@psu.edu telephone: 610-892-1258 office: 202 Commons More student Dorm rooms. involvement, or | would like to see people hang Less stalkers, and more ice cream! Make a coffee bar so that students Make the Lion’s Den a gameroom again. can lounge around. around campus. dorms. Carlo Alfonso Grace Christine Justin Luke Koziol Amanda Victoria Matthew James Nicole Margaret Luciani Blanco IST Hirsh Gebhart Kelly Walker HDFS HDFS LA CAS BA Politics for Politic’s Sake (the liberal), tok wp their respective political stadooints paely for the purpose of the show. Now, for all TI kow, Paul Begala could ke a well-informed individual who has Sot time researching issues, ansidering his on goinian, ad then taking wp a political standooint an these issues. However, how he coxducted himself on the show mede him seam like a "warmeke" die-hard liberal who really did not explain wy he stands for wet he believes in. At the begiming of the segment, Mr.Stewart asked him to say sarething nice about George W . Bush. Bagla's resparse was sarething like "Well, le'll lear of a jdo som. Ba rp 12 Sare pacple might've seen intellect in that com- SPER) met. I saw a little men who falsely clings to a set of : g Leliefs proscribed by the show's writer. That, my pL: friets , is ret a lial. : Rehrlastiry is cortainly Bxbiarie tees dys, | ard unfortunately it has becare quite dif fiat to dis - cam between the trad-folloners ard, for lack of better tams, the tne liberals. The president's ggoroval ratings (which at the time of this writing are in the mid-30's) certainly speek lauder then any Davocrat with a all - hom can. I have no prablam with saree bashing the residat, as lag as he ar ge can sugoort their claim with references to his policies, ad just how detrimental they may be to American society. Likewise, I have ro problem with saree sugoorting President Bush; I Just need sare evidence as to how he is helping the con - ty. Please bo rot interoret wat I have written as a push towards centrism or, even worse, goathy . The last thing thet I would want is for more people to take an the "politics suck" standooint. Our generation has too mary of those as ios = Yar political aligment is a means of classification. It can ke discriminated egainst, just like ethnicity, gader, a social class. Rrsamnlly, I thirk it is fire for ae to tat ae's on beliefs, hit there is ae thing thet I've roticsd aout peples' political aligments (especially at this cam- pus) in the pest year ar so; it seams as if pagple are being liberal just for the sake of playing devil's advocate. Just because you hate George Bush doesn't meke you a likeral. Qe's political beliefs dhauld be an awlgamation of other factors: ethics, lusiness policy, Intematiasl netters, etc. ly by leaming aoout such fields ard then taking wo positians ad qoinias will you trdly care to understand your oan political beliefs. Cntrary to poaular belief, it is KX to side with the ggoosing party an certain matters. I, a registered Deanocrat, agreed with George W . Bush on ae thing during those sorry exuses for ddaates last year: multi- lateral talks with North Korea. A Ict of hot air is throan arcad these cays doit "the liberal media” Afterwards, people who are unin - formed hear these sourd bytes ard use tham as much as they can in an ef fot to sound opiniaated, intelligent, and perges even saohis - tiated. All IT eve to say is that if you thirk the media is overly liberal, then sit down and watch FOX News for aoout 10 mirutes. As for Cagress, there are sare Darnocratic congressmen who aren't doing the contry much of a favor (hmm.Ted Kamedy?). Not too lag ago, Jn Stawert of The Daily Show went an the QWN dekate show called Crossfire ard proceeded to berate the hosts for their so-called "artisan hedkery ! This is a perfect eaple of what I'm talking about. Those two hosts, Tucker Carlson (the conservative) ard Paul Begala [ etter to the editors Amar ‘s editorial an resonsibility hit the mark. Last fall I wrote him in dissgreavent an his article about how price Increases gould reflect aly product gality mprovarents. In tet reply, I want an to cescrile how market forces estan - lished the price of gesolire. Now, I an in caplete agrearent with his point of view.As irdividaals, we are not powerless pawns. In this contry we d have freedom of dice, ad the pathway oar lives take will ke determined by the doices we neke. The "goverrment” QTE protect you fram yourself. Lindsey Murdah
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