It was sitting at an Irish pub in downtown Winston-Salem, with Pabst Blue Ribbons slowly accumulating on the table in front of me, that I decided I would be sports editor of Technician for my senior year. Langdon Morris, who was then deputy sports editor, lured me with mass amounts of beer and visions of covering events like the season opening football game against South Carolina or the men’s basketball ACC Tournament (both of which I wound up watching on T.V.)
What Langdon Morris did not tell me, and what most people who read the paper don’t realize, is the kind of dedication required to put out a daily student newspaper. At a university without a journalism school, every paper printed is an epic achievement of teamwork and coordination between writers, photographers, designers and editors. Being a section editor for Technician isn’t an extracurricular activity, but a full time job, and it is the hard work and sacrifice of the dozens of Technician employees that keeps one of N.C. State’s oldest traditions going stronger than ever.
As sports editor, you take on an incredible volume of criticism from people who don’t seem to have actually read the paper. As an editor, your response must always be prompt, measured and polite. But now that I am saying farewell to N.C. State, it is my turn to deliver some criticism of my own.
Lee Fowler: you should almost consider extending free student tickets to everyone who is graduating in 2009 for at least another year or two. We have simply not gotten our money’s worth in the past four years, having suffered through one of the worst eras of N.C. State Athletics in memory. One winning football season, one trip the men’s basketball NCAA tournament and widespread mediocrity in most of the non-revenue sports has left me feeling cheated of some element of my college experience.
Coaches: if you are looking for success, please follow volleyball coach Charita Stubbs’ three step plan for establishing a winning program and building fan support.
1. Demonstrate unflinching excellence on the court. In three years with the Wolfpack, Stubbs has accumulated a 3-61 record in the ACC and a 14-84 record overall.
2. Respond to criticism in a professional, mature manner. On Oct. 14, Technician ran an editorial cartoon complimenting Stubbs’ first ACC wins in a backhanded manner. Stubbs, a black woman, felt the cartoon was directed at her race rather than her performance as a coach.
Stubbs responded to the Oct. 14 piece by refusing to comment to Technician reporters, demanding a front page apology and talking to seemingly everyone about the cartoon except the Technician staff. Repeated invitations to Stubbs to come to our office and discuss the issue in an open forum were left unanswered, and what could have been a learning experience for everyone involved developed into a bitter standoff.
Personally, I don’t think there was anything racist about the cartoon, but I will invite anyone interested to make up their own mind. Search “stubbs cartoon” on Technician’s Web site and see for yourself.
3. Create strong student and fan support by alienating the student newspaper. Stubbs understands that the best way to put out the word about her blossoming volleyball program is to refuse to talk to the only media outlet that will ever regularly cover N.C. State volleyball. She has not allowed any interviews with Technician reporters since the cartoon ran Oct. 14 (She has also not won any matches since that date.)
As sports editor, I have loved working with the wonderful people in the Athletics Department. From coaches to media relations, people have always behaved professionally, even if the results on the field weren’t ideal. But Stubbs has shown there are exceptions to the rule. Technician will continue to send reporters to objectively cover the volleyball program. It is up to Stubbs to do the mature thing and repair the bridge that has been burned between our organizations.
Chancellor Oblinger: you have demonstrated your utter lack of connection and empathy with the sentiment of the student body by continuing to handicap one of N.C. State’s greatest traditions—tailgating. Five hours is not enough, and students and alumni will never be satisfied with that restriction. Tailgating is a big selling point NCSU can hold over the other ACC schools in the state of North Carolina, so stop killing one of the strongest aspects of our student culture and lift the five-hour limit immediately.
And so I end my career with Technician. To everyone who has helped me along the way, I say thank you. I have loved my four years at N.C. State; this university will hold a special place in my heart for the rest of my life. I am now off to Duke Law School for the next three years, but don’t worry—I will forever remain a Wolfpack fan!
