Staff Editorial: We thought we were of importance

During President Loewenstein's first semester in office at Modesto Junior College, he stopped by the Pirates' Log newsroom and made a point of voicing his opinion on journalism. He emphasized the importance of student journalism for campus and academic life. Every college has to have a school paper, the staff heard him say.

Ironically, it looks as though MJC might not have a paper next semester. Not only will the Pirates' Log be eliminated, but television, film, radio -- the entire mass communications program -- will likely be dismantled.

To cut a single program from the mass communications department if it proved not to be viable, or too expensive, might be acceptable; however, to cut mass communications as a whole is in many peoples' opinion, outrageous. Mass communications is particularly vital in today's society, more than any other time in history. With technology constantly advancing, the need to provide meaningful content for new forms of media is apparent.

The Pirates' Log not only produces a paper, but operates a website with a variety of features unavailable in the print form. All of these features require a staff of properly trained managers and online journalists to maintain.

Television is not just filming, but a complex process of planning, conceptualization, articulation, research, writing, computer applications, editing, speech, graphics and special effects. The equipment that the MJC television department uses could not be operated by the average person without formal education.

George Lucas is a prime example of what can come from starting young in a film program ours. The amount of talent, passion and energy involved in media production at this school is sufficient evidence that the students deserve to keep their programs in order to further develop their skills. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been invested in equipping these programs with the tools needed to make high standard films and TV programming. (Journalism, on the other hand, costs the school practically nothing – just the standard issue classroom computers and the professor's modest salary.) The students of MJC need the mass communication department.

Some consider cutting mass communications a form of censorship. They view MJC student media as one voice of the student body and cutting the program would do away with the only means of powerful expression they have available to them.

Modesto Junior College is being completely and totally un-American, and making a mockery of the First Amendment. Freedom of the press is a necessary element in a healthy democratic society.

President Loewenstein himself said it was crucial. So why did he change his mind? Did his views change so drastically in only one semester? Or was his statement to us a smokescreen? What will happen when there is no student voice left - a dictatorship? Will students be able to gather information on their own, with neither a newspaper, TV nor radio station, nor even a public relations director?

The point is this: whether cutting mass communications is a form of censorship or not, it is still absurd to remove fields of study for this widely practiced profession. How mass communications was chosen to be cut out of the countless other programs, we will never know, but this we do know: without mass communications, we, the students, will be reduced to nothing but a voiceless, blindly obedient subject of those "in charge."

*Editorials are based on the reporter and written anonymously. All editorials are opinion pieces and are voted the topic of the issue by the majority of the Pirates' Log staff. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, we encourage you to write us at pirateslog@yahoo.com.