LANDON PHILLIPS/Assistant Art Editor
STAFF EDITORIAL
In the case of the Graphic, the turning of time has brought the turning of many pages.
The Graphic’s legacy began in 1937, when George Pepperdine first opened the doors to George Pepperdine College in Los Angeles. Since then, Pepperdine’s campus has moved and been given a new name, but its essence and the Christian mission that form its foundation have remained unchanging over the past 70 years. The same is true of the newspaper that has served this university since day one.
As the Graphic staff, rarely do we take the time to talk about what we do behind the scenes. We’d rather the Pepperdine community pick up hot-off-the-press newspapers each Thursday without thinking about the people who put the paper together. But the 70th anniversary seems an appropriate time to reflect on what the Graphic once was, what it is today and what we expect it to become in the future.
At the Graphic, first-and-foremost, we aim to serve the school and its community, which includes students, faculty, alumni, donors and all other supporters of Pepperdine and its mission. This is something we strive for in every issue we publish, as affirmed by the Graphic mission statement printed in our newspaper — “It serves the community with news, opinion, contemporary information and a public forum for discussion.”
We go to great lengths to give the community the most up-to-date news on a regular basis. For example, despite the recent Canyon Fire that threatened campus last month, members of the Graphic staff made it a point to put together a special fire issue through the campus and road closures — and they only had three days to do so. In addition, when the campus fire station was disbanded earlier this year, the Graphic redesigned its entire front-page hours being going to print so that it could inform the community of the news — it was the first to do so.
Even if it may seem, at times, that we purposefully shine negative light on our community and its supporters, our goal is only to keep the community informed in a truthful, fair and accurate way. Though we realize that mistakes have been made with our publication, we strive to better serve our community in each issue.
And, our accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. We have won a number of awards, such as the distinguished college Pacemaker Award, which we mostly recently received in 2005. We have also received state recognition in a number of categories, including first place in News last year.
The Graphic has printed front-page stories that put careers on the line and it has also published front-page stories that have celebrated the careers of some of Pepperdine’s most dedicated people.
For example, last week we published a story on the front page honoring 1939 Pepperdine alumna Helen Young.
“As a member of the very first Graphic staff, she says she remembers being part of the group that named the university’s newspaper — Pepperdine’s oldest, longest-running student organization,” according to the article written by Gloria Sheller.
Young has been a part of the Graphic since its earliest stages, and through her one can see just how far our student newspaper has come.
The Graphic serves not only as our outlet to inform the community, but also as a valuable tool for our learning experience. In addition to the responsibility to be professional and credible, we are also driven by our desire to learn and to teach aspiring writers, designers and photographers.
By working closely with staff members and advisers, while putting together a substantive campus newspaper, students can gain the skills and confidence they need to succeed in jounalism and other connected fields.
We teach our staff to be leaders on an individual level, while we hope our publication symbolizes leadership for our campus. And, as time has shown, the Graphic has served as a stepping-stone for students pursuing careers tied with the work they do at the Graphic.
In addition to the strides we take to further our knowledge, we also use the Graphic as a tool to further Pepperdine’s Christian mission. As stated by the Graphic mission statement, “The Graphic participates in Pepperdine’s Christian mission and affirmations, especially the pursuit of truth, excellence and freedom in a context of public service.”
For example, anyone who walks into our newsroom at 2 a.m. on Thursday would realize that our staff is unquestionably dedicated to serving our community, as we spend a great deal of time working to create a publication that we hope reflects the interests and concerns of our readership. We know our purpose and we are driven to do our jobs with the utmost integrity
With 70 years of experience to guide us, today we pledge to continue our legacy as Pepperdine’s longest-running student organization.
Though the Graphic has evolved over the years with the improvements of technology, the essence of what we do will never change. Our strides to better our online Graphic only serve to enhance and build upon the information we provide in our weekly publication.
And, despite the fact that Graphic staff and advisors have come and gone over the years, the Graphic has always been here. And it will continue to be here, every Thursday, providing Pepperdine with valuable and pertinent news and serving to connect and inform the community.
11-15-2007
