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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Why Work for Scene?

I walked into The Observer office as a freshman on a whim; I hadn't worked for the paper at my high school and was simply trying it on for size. Four years later, working for Scene definitely numbers among some of best parts of my Notre Dame experience - chiefly when it comes to writing my beloved Dining Hall Dish column.Still, I am going to surmise that most of you out there are at best vaguely interested in my good-byes. So I will combine my adieus and reminiscences with something more proactive. Recorded below are the best parts about being part of The Observer - and especially the Scene - staff. Hopefully all of you out there who aren't graduating along with me will consider joining the team.Anyone who works at The Observer gains certain benefits. First, there is the knowledge that a lot of the campus is actually reading what you write. That Observer lying on a dining hall table or stacked in LaFortune is going out with a little bit of you in it. Every weekday you get the chance to let everyone at the University know what is going on, or at least entertain them for awhile. There is even that feeling that the audience out there might actually care. Trust me: However trivial it might seem there is nothing like the first time you make it onto the top-five most-popular articles on The Observer Web site or get your first e-mail - negative or positive - in response to something you wrote. (Even sweeter? A Viewpoint letter or, dare I say it, a Viewpoint controversy.)Beyond that, then there is that special Observer family you come to know. The only people who understand what it means to write an article at the last minute, or be up to far too early finishing the layout for the next morning. You're among the few that associate South Dining Hall with something other than food and are all more than a bit proud to see that freshly printed Observer as you walk to class.Now, why is Scene so special? Well first, it's all about what you get to cover. How would you like it to have an official, productive excuse to sit in a movie theater or watch T.V.? Or get that special VIP feeling when you show up at the DPAC to pick up your complimentary tickets? Nowhere else on campus can you wax poetic about pop culture with such legitimacy.Above all, Scene gives you the most opportunities to be creative. I've had to come up with articles about everything from politics, to the Wii, to Russian ballet companies, to how to survive a South Bend winter. Or best yet, how to survive the dining hall. I've reviewed plays in a language I don't know a word of and gotten to peruse the best of the promotional material the entertainment industry decides to send us. Working for Scene gives you a glimpse into the way creativity and art influence our culture.So I hope this has inspired you to think about joining The Observer. Come polish up your writing, find the best excuse in the world to do something other than homework and, above all, have fun.