one thing i make a conscious effort not to do is make assumptions about other peoples' jobs. since i don't know what goes into those jobs, i'm not really one to act like i do know what they do and how much they work and whatnot. i think it's common courtesy.

therefore, i find it highly offensive when other people talk about MY job. my job in which i DON'T get any money, i get bitched at constantly, and i find myself struggling to get everything done on time.

i will now provide explanations for defender practice, for all those who seem to inquire about what we actually do over in the bergeron lab:

- we publish nine issues. we cannot publish more than nine because we cannot possibly publish during weekends in which we are not on campus. we cannot paginate when everyone is in different states. if someone has an idea about how exactly we can conference-paginate, feel free to contact me.

- allegation: defender does not cover "real" news. truth: where was this naysayer when we covered sept. 11 and how it affected the campus? was said person asleep when we sent an editor to new york city to cover the scene at ground zero? did any other oncampus publication (student-run, that is) effectively address how the campus was affected? the answer is no. we cover events objectively. were there other reporters in the ryan parking lot while two cars were being examined by police and firefighters after they were lit on fire? was there a photographer from any other campus publication? no. we refuse to publish rumor if it is not backed by fact, we examine issues that should be covered in a respectful way, and we expect our writers to produce polished, A.P.-style work. we ask questions, we try to look at the bigger picture, and we try, with our staff that is never more than eight people, to cover the events of the entire st. michael's campus plus juggle classes and our other responsibilities.

we are constantly learning. every semester, the old staff leaves and a brand new staff arrives. we learn programs for layout, photography. we learn editing skills and continue to learn about the craft of writing. those who return learn management, design, advertising and time management. we work 20-30 hours a week (at minimun) creating, finetuning, and presenting publications each week to inform the st. michael's campus.

i invite any naysayers to try doing what we do for a week. if you can produce better work than us, feel free to criticize. in that case, hell, i'll agree with you. however, until i see anyone else lining up to do what we do each week, i can do nothing but laugh at you. i don't pretend to understand what you do in your position. i don't pretend to like you, and i refuse to play the little social games you play. so DO NOT smile and say hello to me and then bash my newspaper with your little friends. get your ass over here and give it a shot. then see how much bashing you'll do.