It has been said that if railroad companies had realized they
weren’t in the business of building trains, but rather in the
business of transporting people, they would have owned
airlines.
The lesson is no different for the Daily Bruin. Sometimes its
staff becomes so engrossed in producing words and images they
forget that, despite appearances, The Bruin is not a newspaper.
The Bruin is no more a newspaper than a student is a person who
pays tuition. Both classifications miss the mark and are grave
decontextualizations.
It’s a revelation that took me three years to understand.
And once the campus community and its staff begins to understand,
The Bruin will be capable of reaching its true promise.
The energy in the newsroom is often so focused on tangible
goals, such as completing the next day’s issue, that the end
product can obscure the process. While I can’t deny the pride
I feel when seeing the Daily Bruin on newsstands, it will be the
process and the potential I will miss most.
After four years of working to inform, persuade and interest
students, it has been made evident that a significant majority do
not comprehend the forces impacting their UCLA experience.
Policies, fees and mandates all radiate from an obscured jungle of
committees, reports and closed-door decisions that are often soaked
in politics and self-interest.
On its worst days, The Bruin is just a simple vehicle for the
news emanating from this mess. On its best, it brings clarity and
perspective that ultimately hold these disconnected institutions
and individuals accountable.
Oct. 25 was a good day. An undocumented immigrant was able to
share her journey, from crossing the United States-Mexico border to
nearing completion of a mathematics degree. Bruin readers could put
a face to the complex issue of immigration: a fellow student.
Feb. 9 was a good day. A series of stories revealed that Weyburn
Terrace, the university’s highly touted graduate housing
complex, was a broken promise and a defective incentive.
Residents’ complaints of being surrounded by flooding, bugs,
dust and delays were amplified.
April 12 was a good day. Gay athletes at UCLA spoke with the
anonymity only a newspaper can provide about being locked in
silence, frightened of the consequences if their coaches and
teammates were to learn of their closeted sexuality.
To love The Bruin is to lead a constant struggle for good
days.
I have enjoyed that struggle immensely.
Of course, I wish we were more capable of distilling simple
truths out of the chaos: the fee hikes, the war, the diversity
requirement, ASUCLA finances. It is excruciating that there are so
few issues bundled with unequivocal rights and wrongs. Instead, we
are confronted by a world full of stubborn nuances.
The triangle of power between the student body, the university
and The Bruin has, albeit with shifts, remained an omnipresent
aspect of life at UCLA since the school opened its doors 85 years
ago. And it will remain so.
The Daily Bruin is not the newspaper of UCLA. The Bruin is the
mediator. The advocate. The cynic and the cheerleader. It could not
cease being one of these things and still be The Bruin.
For the 200-odd undergraduates who stumble into its offices
every year, The Bruin is never just a newspaper. Instead, it is the
manifestation of their ideals, their catalyst and their
conduit.
It certainly catapulted me to places I never expected to be:
John Wooden’s living room, the red carpet at the Academy
Awards and a chair across the table from the chancellor, to name a
few. The trust and responsibility The Bruin infused in me was never
expected, but always appreciated.
Most importantly, it was my connection to the most sincere,
focused and driven individuals at UCLA. I walked into The
Bruin’s offices each day knowing I would be challenged,
tested and guaranteed to learn from my peers and myself. I
don’t expect I’ll ever be in such an exciting
environment again.
I am a person who counts regrets as a litmus test for success,
and my four years at The Bruin have left me with very few.
Over the years, I have belonged to four Daily Bruin staffs. The
sense of belonging and responsibility each gave me is
sacrosanct.
I will never forget the nervousness on my first photo
assignment, or the euphoria when I saw it printed in the next
day’s paper. I will never forget my trepidation of leading
others, or the feedback from those who praised my leadership.
Memories of heated debates, late nights, Frisbee and Franzia,
endorsement hearings and retreats will remain with me always.
I depart painfully aware that the promising potential of The
Bruin, and of journalism, is rarely achieved. But I also understand
the fight for that promise is a thing to be cherished.
The Bruin is not a newspaper. But of course, it is still the
best newspaper, my newspaper, your newspaper.
-30-
Evans served as the 2004-05 editor in chief. After working
at the Los Angeles Times this summer, he will return to Missouri
and either milk cows, prepare for law school or pursue
journalism.