By Kasie Von Haden
Lumen Editor
Every other Sunday, or so, I roll out of bed, and with a big cup of coffee, I go to the Press Room. I’m the first to arrive, so I turn on the lights, open the windows, and crank up my Pandora station for the day. I settle in and begin reading articles submitted to me by my staff members, and after, I write my own for the issue. Staff members trickle in; we copy edit, discuss the articles, talk, and eat pizza.
Then, the staff leaves, and I am left alone with the paper. Eight to 10 hours after arriving, meeting, and making changes, I close up the Press Room and am done with another issue.
These Sundays have come to be one of my favorite parts about my senior year.
During my time at Viterbo, I’ve had the opportunity to wear several different hats. Apart from being an English major, I’ve been a resident assistant, a tour guide, an event programmer for VU After Dark, and a tutor. I’ve also been a part of Lumen staff for the past two years, which is something I never thought I’d have on my hat rack.
I never liked reading newspapers, so why did I decide to write for one? The main reason I decided to apply for Lumen when I was a sophomore was because I knew it would look good on a resume and some of my friends were on staff. That seems to be the typical response to why we get involved – to put it on our resumes so we can show future employers that we have diverse interests and talents.
Well, Lumen has impacted me far beyond that. I’ve met a number of interesting people, worked with talented writers, and established so many connections through this paper.
For my first year on staff, I served as the Campus Life Editor, and wrote stories about club and organization events, speakers, and changes occurring on campus. For my second year, though, I’ve had the privilege of serving as Editor-in-chief of Lumen, and I’ve loved every moment of it.
In particular, I can recall two stories which I really enjoyed working on and writing. Last year, I wrote a story about how the Viterbo Gay-Straight Alliance wanted to become a student organization. I interviewed several students and President Artman to get a few different perspectives. I liked this story in particular because it was about a controversial topic for a Catholic university, but I felt like those who I talked to were really open and respectful, which I appreciated.
Another interesting story is the one I recently wrote about Donald and Marilyn Finn. They were a joy to meet and talk with, and they were just as excited to talk to me. They welcomed me into their home, shared their history with me, and they were sure to treat me to Special K bars before I left. What a great way to end my time on Lumen.
While I’ve enjoyed interviewing people, putting articles together, and editing and making changes to the layout of the paper, most of the joy associated with my involvement in Lumen is when I see the newspapers disappearing from the stands and hear people talking about stories and opinions presented in each issue. So, with that, I thank all of Lumen’s readers – you are who we write for.
I sure am going to miss this.
