Last but not least...

Provided that I can sufficiently bribe my Foreign Policy teacher, I will be graduating next Friday. This is absolutely amazing. It's frightening, but it's amazing. I'd just like to take this space and thank everyone I've met here, from Tom and Greg to all of my classmates: you've been great. So thanks - really.


This week: As far as I know, the final college baseball game that I was ever slated to cover was a washout. Though I was excited for it, lord knows I needed the extra time to get things done. I did cover Tuesday's game, as well as the first two of last weekend's series, so I've been busy, but not as busy as some other times. The stories from these games, I believe, came out pretty well. The two features that I should have done by the end of the semester, however, should be much better.


SHELLS:

Was it worthwhile? I have no idea...I suppose the final product will tell us a lot more, but at this moment, the jury is out for me. That said, I never really got into
the whole thing. Writing and reporting, for me, is only enjoyable when I find something that I'm either passionate about or interested in. Unfortunately, growth met neither criteria.


What, if anything, did you learn? I learned that the Missourian, though it takes some hits, still has an exceptional pipeline of thinkers that it brings in. I don't know how to pinpoint anything concrete, but I do know that I left class every day smarter than when I came in, just from the discussion.

Would you do it again? Well, I was required to do it this time, but I don't think that's what you're asking. My honest answer is no, and I say that only because it just didn't seem to be my thing. I think it has value...but lots of things have value, and I still don't wish to do them. Take my taxes, for instance. Also, the fact that we had to collapse groups was catastrophic, and I believe it made many of the safety folk feel at least a touch out of the loop. Or maybe that was just me.

What would you change? The Missourian absolutely MUST find a way to keep from killing off its students. Every college kid has a sob story, but most of them are bs. The Missourian students that have spent a couple of semesters absolutely working their asses off - to the point that it has made many of us ill at times - have legitimate beefs, and it's a serious problem. The people that I have met here are the most driven I have ever known, and they're already pushing themselves past the limit. This shells thing was just another thing on our plate, and it only strained us further. I'm not saying that shells are a bad idea at all...in fact, I believe the opposite is true...but the Missourian must find a way to keep its students workloads in check. They could start by changing the whole "only 3 credit hours" thing...which is as big a joke as anything on campus. If they wanted to give a credit hour for every 5 hours of work most of us did a week, they'd have to make it a 6 or 7 credit hour class. They might not be willing to do that, but that doesn't make it any more fair.

What would you keep? Overall, everything seemed fine, but there needs to be a better way to even out the workloads. Though I didn't mean to slack, and I feel as though I did everything that was asked of me, I'm sure I only did about 10% of the work that Paul Lampe did.


Thanks for a great run.