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The observer | FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com
Inside Column
How does knowing the end affect the journey? Alysa Guffey Editor-in-Chief
On Sept. 12, 2019, I ach ieved g reat ness. I w rote my f i rst news a r t icle for T he Obser ver. T he 618-word a r t icle wa s a rg uably t he most resea rched, wel l-cra f ted stor y T he Obser ver had ever seen. T he stor y of fered a beh i nd-t hescenes, i nt i mate look i nto one of t he most beloved t rad it ions at Ou r L ady ’s Un iversit y : t he a n nua l L ew is House of Pa nca kes (L HOP). Reread i ng my prev iew of L HOP resu lted i n a few moment s of cr i nge g iven some of t he word choices f rom my f resh ma n-yea r sel f a nd t he fact t hat I had n’t lea r ned t he i mpor ta nce of pa raph ra si ng a la rge por t ion of a news a r t icle. But, t he r ush of t he v iv id memor y I have of sitt i ng i n t he ha l lway f i n ish i ng my stor y (a whole 18 hou rs before t he dead l i ne !) a nd reread i ng t he accou nt I created f rom scratch t r u mps t he sel f-deprecat i ng com ments i n my head. Reread i ng my f i rst byl i ned repor t wh i le w r it i ng t h is a lso ra ises a quest ion i n my m i nd. How does k now i ng t he end a f fect t he jou r ney? I of ten say I fou nd my place i n t he news depa r t ment because I don’t l i ke sha r i ng opi n ions or ta l k i ng about mysel f. Wr it i ng opi n ion colu m ns ha s a lways felt l i ke a sel f ish act to me. It took me some t i me — a nd a conversat ion w it h a f r iend over a ta st y quesad i l la i n Sout h Di n i ng Ha l l — to rea l i ze t hat not ju mpi ng i nto debates
isn’t t h is ter r ible t h i ng I had conv i nced mysel f i nto bel iev i ng it wa s. But, t hat doesn’t mea n what I do isn’t sel f ish at t i mes. In work i ng t h is job, I’ve lea r ned t hat even w r it i ng a nd repor t i ng news stor ies ca n be sel f ish. T he f i rst t i me you see you r byl i ne i n pr i nt excites you a nd mot ivates you to wa nt to w r ite a not her, a nd a not her a nd t hen a not her. Soon enoug h, you’re hooked, a nd fou r yea rs later you’re w r it i ng a fa rewel l colu m n for t he orga n i zat ion you’ve ded icated a sig n i f ica nt por t ion of you r col leg iate ex per ience to. Come t h is Su nday, I’l l step dow n a s Ed itori n-Ch ief of T he Obser ver. T he day ha s l i ngered i n t he back of my m i nd a nd ha s been sketched i n my pla n ner si nce t he beg i n n i ng of t he yea r. Honest ly, I t houg ht I wou ld be sadder once t he day wa s on ly t h ree n ig ht s away, a nd I’ve st r ugg led to f ig u re out why I’m not more emot iona l. In a n i nterest i ng moment Tuesday n ig ht, wh i le ed it i ng a ba sketba l l stor y, I u nderstood what Mi ke Brey mea nt when he sa id he wa s “not at a l l” emot iona l before h is la st home ga me a s men’s ba sketba l l head coach. He had menta l ly prepa red for h is t i me to go. I’ve menta l ly prepa red for m i ne. A nd t he jou r ney to t h is Su nday ha s come w it h a rem i nder to mysel f: I’m more t ha n a posit ion. T he people I ca re about have appreciated me whet her I wa s a news w r iter, a n ed itor or — pret t y soon — not h i ng at a l l. Instead of sad ness, I feel pr ide i n t he work t hat a l l of my fel low st udent jou r na l ist s
completed i n t he pa st yea r. I t h i n k about ou r spor ts w r iters a nd photog raphers who worked before, du r i ng a nd a f ter t he big gest footba l l ga me of t he yea r to publ ish complete coverage i m med iately fol low i ng t he ga me. I t h i n k about how t wo of ou r w r iters had t he br i l l ia nt idea to recr u it ChatGP T to w r ite t he lede for a stor y about ChatGP T usage at Not re Da me. I t h i n k about V iew poi nt colu m ns t hat made me cr y. I t h i n k about t he creat ive people t hat ded icated t hei r t i me a nd energ y to lau nch severa l new projects for t he paper — i nclud i ng a new Ti k Tok accou nt a nd a reader-generated ser ies t hat a nswers t he quest ions readers ca re about most. L a st semester, I took Int roduct ion to Creat ive Wr it i ng, ea si ly one of my favor ite cou rses at Not re Da me. On t he f i rst day of cla ss, we bega n w it h t he rea son to w r ite : “T here’s no worse feel i ng t ha n bea r i ng a n u ntold stor y i nside you.” It m ig ht not come a s a su r pr ise i f you’ve been pay i ng at tent ion, but I have u ntold stor ies t hat I don’t sha re. T he rea l it y is t hat so does ever yone else on t h is ca mpus, a nd it’s ou r job at T he Obser ver to tel l t hose u ntold stor ies. I m ig ht not have had 23 sea sons l i ke Mi ke Brey, but i f a ny t h i ng, I k now I’ve helped tel l u ntold stor ies i n my t i me at T he Obser ver a nd t hat’s enoug h to feel good about steppi ng dow n. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Stop South Bend slander Gracie Eppler The Soapbox
Cor n, soy, cow s, sem i-t r uck s. Cor n, soy… oh, a nd occ a siona l ly, more cor n. T h i s desc r ibes t he g re y a nd u n st i mu lat i ng d r ive ac ross A mer ic a’s hea r t la nd s t hat I took t h i s weekend a s I made t he t rek f rom Sout h Bend dow n to Urba na-C ha mpa ig n to v i sit a f r iend. F lat, d r y a nd l it tered w it h t he occ asiona l ga s-st at ion-McDona ld’s c rossover, t he d r ive made me rea f f i r m ever y negat ive stereot y pe I’d come ac ross about t he M idwest . “Not re Da me, r ig ht? A l l I k now i s t hat it ’s a good school i n a c rappy a rea,” sa id a ra ndom (a nd ver y bold) Urba na-C ha mpa ig n boy f rom Ca l i for n ia . W it h a st r i ng of aw k w a rd laug hter, I cou ld on ly ag ree. W hat w a s t here rea l ly to defend about Sout h Bend ot her t ha n br ut a l ly cold w i nter s, con st a nt con st r uc t ion a nd a n ever-present per macloud ? Even i n Urba naC ha mpa ig n, t here seemed to be i n f i n itely more d iver sit y a nd t h i ngs to do. I lef t my t r ip feel i ng somew hat depressed about hav i ng to ret u r n to a colorless spr i ng i n I nd ia na . T he t h ree-hou r d r ive w a s a n ex ac t repl ic a of t he sa me jou r ne y I m ig ht t a ke f rom my hometow n of St . L ou i s to a ny ot her c it y i n a ny d i rec t ion. Ever y w here i n t he M idwest seemed to look t he sa me, smel l t he sa me a nd even t a ste t he sa me. I fou nd my sel f wonder i ng w hy I d id n’t pick a ny place ot her t ha n I nd ia na to spend w hat a re supposed to be fou r of t he most exc it i ng yea r s of my l i fe. T he longer I d rove, t he more I ref lec ted upon t he M idwest . Fueled by t he t u nes of G enesi s a nd Bu f fa lo Spr i ng f ield, I w aded t h roug h a n end less sea of cor n. I t houg ht of ma ny of my
hometow n f r iend s w ho had chosen much more g la morou s loc at ion s to spend t hei r col lege yea r s a nd t he judg ment t he y pa ssed on Sout h Bend. I a m of ten jea lou s of t hei r col lege ex per iences, w here t he y c a n hop i n t he ocea n a fter f i n i sh i ng a n a ssig n ment or t a ke a subw ay dow ntow n to g r ab a mea l f rom a ny c u i si ne t he y desi red. A nd t hen I t houg ht of my Not re Da me f r iend s, ma ny of w h ich had selec ted I nd ia na over t hese more a l lu r i ng opt ion s. One had even chosen N D over Colombia, a nd w h i le she ad m it s t hat she l i kes New York much better t ha n Sout h Bend, she a l so a r g ued t hat ou r c a mpu s a nd c it y have so much to of fer. St i l l z oom i ng t h roug h f ield s of fa r m la nd, I t houg ht of t he Sout h Bend c it i z en s I meet w it h ever y T hu r sday at L a Ca sa de A m i st ad, eager to lea r n about A mer ic a so t he y c a n g r a sp t hei r c it i z en sh ip. T hei r color f u l stor ies rem i nd me t hat bei ng here i s a f reedom to ma ny. I mu st remember — a s I’m su re ma ny of u s here at Not re Da me do — to be c aut iou s w it h my voc abu la r y w hen spea k i ng about t h i s c it y. We toss a rou nd deprec at i ng jokes a nd compla i n about t he “lack of c u lt u re” a l l too qu ick ly w it hout remember i ng t he t hou sa nd s of people t hat l ive here. Ou r judg ment comes f rom a place of pr iv i lege. We a re a l lowed to ma ke f u n of I nd ia na a nd compla i n about t he du l l a rea su r rou nd i ng ou r c a mpu s bec au se (for most of u s) we on ly need to endu re it for fou r shor t yea r s. A nd t hen, we c a n ret u r n back to ou r bu st l i ng c it ies a nd ex pen sive homes. W hen Fr. Sor i n f i r st a r r ived here a f ter mont h s of t r avel a nd c rossi ng a v a st ocea n, he excla i med w it h much fer vor i n h i s jou r na l t hat “Ever y t h i ng w a s f roz en, a nd yet it a l l appea red so beaut i f u l.” A qu iet la ke, t a l l, shelter i ng t rees w it h ic icles t hat d r ipped dow n
l i ke tea rd rops — t he new world w a s to Fr. Sor i n a “new Eden.” He k new t he la nd to be blessed. He k new w hat he w a s bu i ld i ng w a s goi ng to be a g reat “force for good.” To pa ss judg ment on ou r loc at ion, we mu st f i r st ex plore w hat it ha s to of fer. Sout h Bend i s more t ha n ju st Not re Da me. I n choosi ng to come here, we have ded ic ated ou r selves to fou r yea r s i n a com mu n it y f u l l of r ich h i stor y. Ma ny of u s w i l l compla i n about ou r geog r aphy w it hout ever ex plor i ng it . I stopped i n Por t age, I nd ia na, to f i l l up my t a n k before f i n i sh i ng up t he la st leg of my jou r ne y ac ross A mer ic a’s hea r t la nd s. Ref lec t i ng upon a l l t h i s, I w a s f i l led w it h a g reat d i sda i n for t he bold Ca l i for n ia n boy w ho had sha red h i s opi n ion so f reely, a ssu m i ng I wou ld ag ree. I w a s equa l ly a n noyed at my sel f for a l low i ng h i m to ma ke t h i s st atement, for laug h i ng it of f i n stead of defend i ng my school a nd my a rea . T he M idwest may not be g la morou s, a l lu r i ng or g l it ter i ng , but it i s i mport a nt . T he w aves of g r a i n I’d d r iven t h roug h f uel A mer ic a’s economy a nd g ive w ay to ma ny mea l s t hat people f rom ac ross t he nat ion w i l l enjoy. W h i le I cont i nue my br ief st ay i n Sout h Bend, I prom i se to ex plore more of w hat it ha s to of fer. A nd, I encou r age a ny reader s to stop t he Sout h Bend sla nder a nd i n stead work tow a rd s apprec iat i ng t h i s “new Eden.”
Gracie Eppler is a sophomore Business Analytics and English major from St. Louis, Missouri. Her three top three things ever to exist are 70’s music, Nutella and Smith Studio 3, where she can be found dancing. Reach her at geppler@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.