It wasn't until this semester that I understood the significance, and responsibility that comes with column writing. At the beginning of this semester, I submitted to an opening at the Collegian to write a column, and was offered the opportunity.
Like Donna has explained so well in class, the challenge with column writing is to do it in a way that you offer a certain perspective and emphasis of personal voice, but to still research it as thoroughly as any news story. While writing for the Collegian this semester, I have found the most difficult thing to be maintaining the integrity of research and reporting for a column.
It is very frustrating to read stories by other column writers for the Collegian, because a large majority of them truly treat the opinion section as their own personal blogs. Most of what is written by these editorialists are reminiscent of what you would find on someone's Facebook page. They take the high road and merely write about what they did over their spring break, how they got so wasted at a party and slept with some guy, or just rant in general.
What I also find frustrating is that while taking this high road, they don't challenge the reader or themselves. They write to a college audience, basically taking stances on issues that most college students would probably agree with: "Lets legalize pot!"= 0 comments on the Collegian's web site.
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