Tuesday night in the Volante newsroom at the Al Neubarth Media Center. It’s print night, and you can tell; student journalists are running in and out of the room, conferring over In Design windows, making last-minute phone calls for follow-up questions.
It feels like every other print night, and yet somehow it’s different. In the corner, an editor is poring over a Biology textbook, looking up every now and then to survey her design editor’s work on the office computer. Another student journalist is soundlessly mouthing Calculus formulas to himself, his head propped up on his hand, occasionally scratching his nose absentmindedly with the back of a pencil.
Amidst the usual hum of activity, there is a quiet concentration among the staffers. There is no idle small talk, no streaming of silly YouTube videos. No one seems to be wasting a single minute.
“No time to chit-chat,” someone says half-jokingly.
No time to chit-chat, indeed. It’s finals week at the University of South Dakota, and for the journalists of The Volante— who have an entire student-produced newspaper to work on alongside their own final tests and projects — there is quite literally no time to lose.
“It’s like having an additional final project that has to be extremely excellent, because soon everyone in the community will have access to it,” photo editor Malachi Petersen said.
Petersen and his co-workers say the newspaper is at the front of their finals week worries, and that it generally cuts their study time in half.
“It’s much harder than people would think,” said editor in chief Emily Niebrugge. “It’s literally a daily thing, not just a Tuesday thing before it comes out on Wednesday. You have to plan ahead at least two weeks in advance — putting together a budget, planning a layout, assigning stories, following up with reporters.”
An added element of stress is the level of quality for which the publication strives. The Volante is an award-winning newspaper. It was established in 1889 and has been helmed by individuals like Al Neubarth, the late founder of USA Today. Niebrugge says this legacy pushes staff to provide good content in spite of added tensions.
“We never abandon our pursuit of quality,” Niebrugge said. “Even with unexpected complications, or ten minutes from deadline, or in this case with finals week. Sometimes things do slip through the cracks, but we never make a conscious decision of ‘forget it.’”
Petersen agreed, calling the week “stressful” but adding that everyone on staff deals with it, even functioning on much less sleep than usual.
Senior editor Megan Card finds solace in the generous amount of time journalists are allotted to work on their stories.
“We have more time to work on our projects, and we’re not having to wait around for tests, “ Card said. “You just have to learn to balance it with all the other obligations you have.”
This delicate balancing act is not always possible. Student journalists varied on prioritizing their own schoolwork over newspaper duties, and vice versa.
“My schoolwork is much more important to me,” Card said. “I’m here to get an education, get my bachelor’s degree, get a job. It’s important to be involved with student media, but at the same time if I’m not doing well in classes it’s a damper on my life.”
Others felt the hands-on experience was more important than bookwork.
“I know they always say that school comes first because that’s what you’re here for, but that doesn’t always ring true,” Niebrugge admitted. “My work as a journalist takes precedence. Our program stresses a lot of our portfolios and resume packets, and you put your experience first. This is where I’m able to apply everything I’ve learned.”
Petersen, with a slightly guilty smile, said he agrees more with Card but finds himself prioritizing the newspaper nonetheless.
“It shouldn’t be this way, but the paper does take precedence over my schoolwork,” he said. “It should be the other way around.”
When it all gets to be too much, student journalists have unique ways of coping with the stressful week. Niebrugge indulges in chocolate; Card takes time out to watch old Saturday Night Live clips online. Petersen orders his signature small hot chocolate with extra whipped cream from the campus coffee shop. News design editor Austin Ashlock said his coping methods have changed over the years.
“It used to be food,” he said. “Now’s it’s drinking. We’ll see what’s next.”
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