Letter to the Editor

Open letter to incoming freshmen: As an alumnus and former student leader, there is one piece of advice that I cannot stress enough to incoming freshman: Get involved. Hofstra has more than 100 student-run clubs and teams, as well as a non-commercial radio station that is constantly winning awards. Your involvement in any of these clubs or in WRHU will not only look good on your resume, but they are the key to making your time in the college the best years of your life (so far). While cliques abound at Hofstra, you will find that, for the most part, this is not the case with the members of student clubs. When they flag you down at a student activity fair and ask for your e-mail address, they are not just doing it for their health. They really want to welcome you into their fold. And once you start getting involved, you'll see the fears you had that you wouldn't make any new friends in college will become a faint memory. This goes for commuters too. Getting involved will make the difference between dreading your trip to Hofstra in the morning and looking forward to it. When you only come to campus for classes and head straight home afterwards, you won't be able to wait for your four or so years to be over. If you get out of class and head to a meeting, game or other activity with people who make you feel like you belong, you'll never want your college years to end. While every club has its's social value, some also offer invaluable preprofessional training. I can personally attest that becoming a member of The Chronicle prepares students to become working journalists in a way that a classroom never could. If you plan on majoring in print journalism but have no intention of joining The Chronicle or Pulse, Hofstra's student-run magazine, then find another major. You're just wasting your time going to school. Classes can teach you the fundamentals of writing, but its practice that makes you a good writer. I've heard of at least one teacher in the journalism department who tells students that they shouldn't get involved in The Chronicle, and they should put that time and effort into internships instead. However, that is flawed advice. Internships are great, but good luck getting one with a blank resume. You may be able to land a sweet position making coffee for some disgruntled editor. Broadcast journalism majors should also strongly consider writing for the paper. As technology and the media industry change, prospective journalists are more often expected to be multi-talented and to have experience in all forms of media. No news entity is just a radio station, just a newspaper, or just a television network any more. They all have Web sites, and they require experienced writers. Also, writing copy to be read on air also takes a writing talent than should be nurtured with a print publication. Print journalists should be fighting for seats in the WRHU training course, so they can join the radio station and get experience on air and behind a sound board. When you interview for a job, you won't have much to say about yourself if you've been a one-trick pony throughout college. If you want to be an amazing job candidate, do not pigeon hole yourself. Also, considering the number of students studying journalism at Hofstra, I'm astonished that there is not more competition among prospective journalists for the top spots in student media. Everyone studying print journalism should have their eyes set on becoming the editor-in-chief of the The Chronicle or Pulse, and every broadcast journalism student should plan on becoming an executive board member of WRHU or a producer for HTV by the time they graduate. Journalism is a demanding industry. If you can't manage an editorial position on top of your class load, then good luck in the real world. Granted, some people have to work through college if they expect to afford it. But a few hours a week to pick up a radio shift or write an article is the only way you'll get your bearings in journalism.

Brendan O'Reilly Class of 2007