--Printed March 24, 2004
At the first meeting of the State Times, it was announced that there was a Sports Editor position available. The thought buzzed around in her head for a while, because she was hardly sports illiterate since she was on her high school’s varsity swim team, competitively swimming since she was eight-years-old, a soccer referee and player for many years, and had a period of basketball competition in her younger years. After some encouragement from friends, family, and even the Managing Editor of the time, senior Gerald Fernando, within the first two weeks of school, she was the college newspaper’s Sports Editor. "This is awesome," she thought, "maybe by the time I become a senior, I will be Editor-in-Chief since I already have an ‘in’ on the editorial board." Little did she know what was destined for her for the rest of that semester
Suddenly something changed in the management of the newspaper; the Editor-in-Chief of the time had resigned and the new sports editor was asked to become the Managing Editor, and December 2002, she became the Editor-in-Chief of the State Times. This marks the beginning of the sleepless nights, the continuous heartburn of whether she would get all her work for her classes completed (this doesn’t even touch upon the quality and retention), but it also brought positive experiences and opened up opportunities that she never thought she would have at college. However, being new to this kind of responsibility, it was like she was being thrown into a ring with lions, and T-bone steaks were stapled to her body. She wasn’t alone though; with the enormous help from Gerald, who was the former Editor-in-Chief and then Arts and Entertainment Editor, and Production and Design Editor Floyd Reeser, she got past the initial shock of it all and eventually put an end to the rocky era of the State Times by managing it as she saw fit.
As time passed and articles, editorials and pro/cons were assigned and written, opinions on certain issues opened many eyes and voices within the campus community. Living in the United States, people have to respect that that others are willing to dive into topics that are considered controversial and fairly taboo, and bring them to the table of discussion. For a collegiate newspaper to take serious issues seriously is very important, and for the past year and a half, I believe the State Times has taken many steps towards improving the quality and professionalism of its content, with new features such as "Ya Don’t Say," "Faces in the Crowd," more interesting pro/cons and just maintaining a nice balance of community and campus stories. With the support and suggestions from the current e-board and staff, the ongoing evolution of the State Times was made possible and does not go thankless.
So is this the last you will hear of Beth Romano? That is a silly question with a simple answer; of course this isn’t. As one of my professors said to me throughout the Fall 2003 semester, when I was taking 21 credits, "You need to find a better balance of your time and be sure not to spread yourself too thin." So consider this stepping down as a reevaluation of priorities. Think about it; I am an adolescence education major in biology, who is right now taking 24 credits (yes that will make me a senior next fall, even though it will be my third year on campus). How much time do you think I spend on my schoolwork? Not enough. How about spending quality time with my friends here on campus--some of who will be leaving at the end of this semester? Again, there are not enough hours in the day to enjoy the simple, yet important, things in life. I feel as if I have done my college career backwards, but looking back on my experiences, I have no regrets. For the remainder of this semester, I will act as the Managing Editor, while training next semester’s editorial board. When the new academic year starts, I will return doing what I love to do--writing and taking pictures--but this time, as the Photography Editor.
As for the future that the newspaper, I know it will only further improve under the management of the new Editor-in-Chief James McHugh. In addition to being my good friend and also the current Managing Editor, James has a certain determinative work ethic, he has a great way of handling the staff and (the good, ugly, and the occasional odd) issues that come flying through the doors of the State Times office. I know he will do an amazing job as the Editor-in-Chief and I look forward to seeing the paper progress in my two remaining years at SUNY College at Oneonta.
I thank everyone who I have worked with and will always look back on the amazing experiences, the stories, the trying times, and interesting people that have crossed my path in the last two years. We shouldn’t take our time here for granted. College can be as great or as miserable as you want it to be, so, while I don’t recommend taking more than 21 credits in one semester, I do suggest that you get involved with as many activities as possible, obviously knowing your boundaries and where your priorities lie, which should be your academic studies. As I mentioned before, I am an education major, but so far I have been offered more jobs and internships from being the Editor of this publication, than for teaching (even though I really can’t do too much until I’m certified). You never know where things might lead you and what you will learn about others and yourself experiencing different environments that you might be unfamiliar with. If you do decide to go into the newspaper business, take it from one of your peers; it can be a thankless job that you practically work full-time for, but seeing people reading and responding to your work printed is well worth it. You might get praise, you might strike a tense chord with people, but that’s what makes publishing in the United States so great--everyone has opinions and should be rightfully heard.
To wrap-up this ‘farewell for now’ editorial, I encourage everyone to get involved, be aware of your own ambitions, and don’t be afraid to voice your opinions; afterall, this is how the shy, little freshman named Beth Romano grew to be an opinionated, assertive student at SUNY Oneonta.
