Monday, September 22, 1997 Sports staff promises hard work to
bring you the best COLUMN: Readers can expect a more well-rounded
and colorful section, leaving no teams uncovered
When I was a little boy, my mother always told me that whatever
you do, make sure you do it to the best of your abilities. As I
think about what my mother preached to me, I now know that her
words were stressed to help build confidence, self-esteem and,
above all, integrity into my character. When I accepted the
position as sports editor for the Daily Bruin in May, my mother’s
words of wisdom gave me the strength and determination to accept
the task. I have learned so much from my mom’s words. They have
helped me in my academic and personal life. Therefore, whenever I
am having a long day at The Bruin, I think about my mother’s words,
and they remind me that I am here because of a commitment that I
made to both The Bruin, myself and the UCLA community.
As I sat down to write this column, I began thinking about what
exactly I should write about. After thinking about it for some
time, I decided to elaborate on how important dedication is. Prior
to becoming sports editor, my life consisted of taking four
classes, playing lots of tennis and participating in several
extracurricular activities. However, my life has changed immensely.
Come fall quarter, I will have to enroll in three classes, reduce
my tennis schedule to two or three times a week, and my
extracurricular activities will consist largely of volunteering my
time as a mentor in a junior high or high school. The reason for
this change is because working for The Bruin demands a great deal
of time. Although I will miss a lot of my free time, I know that it
will be worth it because this is something that I have made a
commitment to stand by.
As sports editor, I hope to create a sports section that is
professional and has excellent sports coverage. My mission is to
present you with a wide variety of sports-related interests,
ranging from the more popular sports on campus (football,
basketball, baseball and volleyball) to the smaller sports, namely
club and intramural sports. We are adding a Friday weekend edition
of The Bruin that will preview the upcoming football game. The
edition will also provide you all with other sport-related
alternatives
Another important issue that will be addressed in The Bruin is
gender equity. I feel as though there a lot of talented women’s
sports on campus that do not get the coverage they deserve. Often,
sports coverage tends to be centered around male-dominated themes.
Therefore, it is very important that we not only work to change
this at The Bruin, but to also incorporate women’s issues into a
lot of our coverage. This, I feel, will give the readers a wide
variety of things to read and definitely something to talk about.
In addition, covering sports tends to follow a formulaic style. By
this I mean one can read a story and see what the score was, who
played who, and a quote from the coach or outstanding player of the
game. I want to bring a more balanced depiction of sports to The
Bruin and create stories that are more personal, enthusiastic, and
worth reading. Finally, intramural sports deserve as much credit as
our NCAA sports. Intramural participants are also dedicated
student-athletes who enjoy both academics and competition.
Since becoming sports editor, I have learned the importance of
being dependable, responsible and accountable. My boss is a really
dedicated person who cares about her job. My staff is an excellent
group of people to work with. Although things get tight at times,
we all have learned to keep our wits about us and put the needs of
The Bruin first. We work extremely hard editing and developing
ideas so that you are presented with good, quality writing.
Over the last couple of months, I have learned that being
disciplined is the only way to effectively change something. When I
first accepted this position, I did not think that it could be that
difficult. Considering the fact that I was the sports editor of my
high school newspaper, I thought that it could not be that
different. Boy was I wrong. Despite the fact that there are a lot
of similarities, it is a lot more work.
Working here at The Bruin is a much more macro-type environment
compared to my high school newspaper. In any event, the dedication
that I have alluded to consists largely of being a team-oriented
person. It requires one to be both sensitive and tolerant to the
many different opinions and values that others possess.
As I wrap up this column, I am again reminded of my mother’s
words of wisdom. I hope that I am able to be the best that I can be
as sports editor. It is my hope that my staff and I can provide
UCLA and the community with the best sports coverage this side of
the 405 freeway. Historically, UCLA has been a force to be reckoned
with in all of its sports. I hope we can continue to live up Sports
Illustrated’s perception of us being the No. 1 jock school and to
also give the readers something to look forward to on a daily
basis. I look forward to a very promising and productive year as
your sports editor. If there is something that I left out, or
something that you would like to see in The Bruin, please me or my
staff know, and we will do whatever we can to accommodate your
requests. Go Bruins.
Johnson is a fifth-year American literature and culture
student.
Stan Johnson