Thursday, April 11, 2013

"J" is for Journalism

For my 'J' post, I was going to write about my days as the only man on the journalism staff in high school. As I was going through the old issues (25 years old), I came across this article about that exact subject. I will add it here word for word.

I did not write this. It was written by one of the girls on the staff. Anything in RED is my addition today and was not a part of the original.


THE MAN BEHIND ALL THE LADIES
by Stephanie Allison


Brett Minor is the only guy we have in journalism. I thought that it would be nice if we were to find out the motive behind him taking this class.

Brett decided he needed one more credit for English and he really didn't want to take English IV. (I was scared of English IV. I heard we had to write a lot.)

I asked if he liked being in a class with all girls and he replied, "Being the only boy in the class is a lot of fun, but it also has its problems. I get to hear all the latest gossip. Girls are better gossipers than guys are. I hear about everything that happens almost as soon as it happens."  
**Brett, ladies are NOT better gossipers than guys. We just talk about more interesting things than they do.** (Not true. They were better.)

Brett also commented that being in a class of all girls has improved him as a person, but also has its disadvantages. He said, "The girls in this class are not the least bit reluctant to talk about their problems or anything else just because I'm in the room." Brett sometimes feels that being in a class with all girls causes a losing position when it comes to our class debates. He said, "Debates are the worst part of journalism, especially fights about a girl being mad at a guy for any reason. If I stick up for the guy, I have nine girls on my case at once." (I was naive and hadn't yet learned that it is always the man's fault)

"I am not anti-feminist, but my views and opinions are not exactly the same as the ladies in the class."

When I asked Brett if he had a chance to do it again, would he, he said, "YES, definitely." (DUH!…Nine girls to myself!!!)

Brett said, "I have learned things about girls that I never knew before! I won't explain."   
(Mostly about their periods)

After talking to Brett, I asked the rest of the staff what they thought about Brett, and what it was like having him around the room. (I was really scared of this)

Here are the answers I received:

Traci: I think it's great to have a guy on the staff. Brett always has funny articles on his pages, but sometimes I forget he is in the room and say something that he should not hear. Also, when all of us females get together for a gripe session about guys, Brett gives us his opinion, which is sometimes not worth a dime, but that is beside the point. (See! I hadn't learned yet.)

Deana: Brett is a great guy to have on the staff. (That's right, Deana) He just quietly sits there and lets us gripe about all life's problems. (Because I care) He usually puts in his two cents here and there. He contributes interesting ideas and thoughts for the paper. This makes him an asset to the paper.

Lynn: Brett helps a great deal on the paper. His witty articles make the paper more interesting. I think he has a lot of guts for staying on the staff with all us girls. (Bravery? Not a trait I was normally known for)

Susan M: I think Brett is a good writer for the paper and he helps out a lot. He even discusses our problems with us. (Like I said, I care)

Susan P: Brett is a great help while typing and running off stencils and putting the paper together on the night before the paper comes out. (I lived close to the school) His articles are very innovative and original.

Allison: Brett has been a great help on the paper. His articles are always very interesting and somewhat amazing. I remember the day school first started and all of us girls on the staff talked about EVERYTHING. We really had to watch what we said, but now we don't care. We figure he has heard it all.  (Once again, menstruation)  
**(BUT HAS HE??????)**

Sabra: I find Brett's articles very funny and interesting. (I am still accused of not taking things seriously) I think it's really great to have a guy on the staff.

Angie: Well, Brett is very quiet in journalism, but sometimes he says the funniest things that we girls tend to take out of context. (Always misunderstood. Still true today.) I love to hear him and Traci get into fights and how they tell us the things they do together. Brett being here doesn't seem to bother us. I still talk about everything because it doesn't seem to bother him (or me). Remember the day I got in trouble, Bert? (Bert was my nickname in high school)   
**Tracie doesn't think that the statement about what they 'do' together is a very good one.**

Stephanie: Well, I guess it's okay having a guy on the staff, but then again, I really don't know what it was like not having a guy on the staff. (It was her first year) As for Brett, I think his articles are pretty good. (Just pretty good?)
**Was this bad enough about you, Brett??**


None of them ever did go out with me.
 


Happily participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. For the entire month of April, 1,889 bloggers are working their way through the alphabet. One letter every day but Sundays for a total of 26 days.

Click here to visit the website and get more information to see if you might want to join in next year. It's a lot of fun, introduces you to hundreds of new blogs and gives your writing some fantastic exposure.

34 comments:

  1. I think your time spent with those girls was an invaluable education. You had been admitted to the 'inner sanctum'...a place not many guys get to go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the way I explained it to the other guys at school. I thought I was special. They did not agree, as usual.

      Delete
  2. " Brett gives us his opinion, which is sometimes not worth a dime, but that is beside the point". Wow, tough crowd.

    Ah, you were to young to realise that girls don't date the funny guy who will willingly listen to them gripe.
    Never mind, it was their loss. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This brings back some memories. I was one of the few guys in my journalism class, and (surprise surprise) I created the comic section of our newspaper, aka the only part of the paper kids would actually end up reading. It infuriated my teacher, especially since he knew how good I was at writing, but when he asked why I didn't write instead, I said "none of the things you could possibly want me to write about would be interesting." And... thus more frustration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He had to know it was a high school. It's not like the students were thirsting for in depth, hard-hitting articles.

      Delete
  4. Sorry I did not have time to read this. It's probably interesting.
    Mary at Mary A to Z

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's good to know that things haven't changed. Bwahahahahahaha.

    Have a terrific day. ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not at all. My opinion is still not worth a dime. In fact, in this recession, it's not even worth a nickel.

      Delete
  6. It's awesome that you still have that article. THose girls seem to have put up with you well. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our teacher had all the issues for the years put together into one book. I still have them all.

      Delete
  7. Great read, I love all your additional comments. Seems like you enjoyed yourself a lot in the class. Its true that women are better at gossiping, and we are always right ha ha

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deleted due to a major typo. What I had said was that I can totally relate to this. My office at work has 40 girls and 3 guys so the environment is the same. The surprising (or maybe not) part is that it is still the same. The gossip is stil present in full force. I guess girls will always be girls. Thanks for the good laugh.
      Elliot
      We Are Adventure

      Delete
    2. Thank you.

      The A to Z has been tough. I feel like I cheated with this one.

      Delete
  9. This is great! Do any of them read your blog? I was editor of my school paper, but we had several guys!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A few of them do. The year after I left, there was another guy to take my place.

      Delete
  10. I feel like there are very few males who would take time off from lighting their farts on fire and physically assaulting each other to be so precise as to edit a school paper. Kudos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. It was a pleasure and I could never get my farts to light anyway.

      Delete
  11. Dude, you could have GONE TO TOWN on those comments today.
    Seriously, are any of them reading? Much to tame. Dude, i'd use this forum to say wha t I *really* think...now, not just then.

    Althought, knowing you now, "then" is pretty interesting for comparison. Tame. Very tame. I like Wile Brett, personally.

    ReplyDelete
  12. LOL

    Blogging A to Z Challenge http://www.shellygoodmanwright.com/apps/blog/show/25564441-j-is-for-jessica

    ReplyDelete
  13. What an awesome keepsake to have, a snapshot of who you were in high school. But did they never go out with you because you never asked? That's my suspician :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know that anyone would have said YES, but it is true that I never asked.

      I did go to the senior prom with one of them, but it wasn't a date.

      Delete
  14. I always wished I'd taken journalism classes. I was disappointed to see a recent list of careers not worth going to college for. Journalism was at the top of the list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had a blast in that class. My daughter was on the staff at her school and loved it as well. Lot of fun.

      Delete
  15. How awesome is that?! Great trip down memory lane! All I have from high school is my pretending to be in the different groups. No, really. I snuck in 4 different pictures for after school clubs for the yearbook. I didn't belong to any of them.

    I was a hipster photobomber

    Hugs!

    Valerie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is hilarious. I would have never thought to do that. I have done that on vacation before. Follow around some unsuspecting family at Six Flags and get in the background of all their pictures.

      I could just see them at home when they get their pictures back. "Who are these kids? They're in every one!"

      Delete
  16. I'm going to have to show this to Brother. He's always saying that he's completely surrounded by girls for a website he helps run. At least he doesn't have to hear about periods and boy problems and have nine girls attack him at once.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I assume it gets easier as everyone gets older. My experience was in high school, so...there's that.

      I don't really know if that makes any difference.

      Delete

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