Here we go again

by Peter Hahnloser

Opinion Editor

The Daily of the University of Washington

Masturbatory is a very pervasive word at the Daily. It is a beautiful, simple term that sums up clearly the nature of an article, column, photo or other snippet that serves no purpose to the reader, instead only making the perpetrator feel good about himself.

Historically, this opening column has been masturbatory. It’s that space where the opinion editor becomes the 96th person to “officially welcome” students to the UW or at least the school year. And then there’s the story of what the editor wants to do with the section and a plea for writers.

Who am I to defy tradition?

In April of last year, my roommate and I sat in our dorm room downloading stuff off the Internet and watching television. A story came on the news about affirmative action and how it had helped a minority (and hence, underprivileged) man get a job instead of one of the number of whites who had applied for the same position.

I became so furious about how the media painted affirmative action that I started to write about it – mind you, I’d never written outside of class projects – and finally stopped writing when my mind was cleared, six pages later.

In retrospect, it sucked. But I was thrilled with the idea that I’d written something, and went on a quest to find everyone I knew and show it to them. Still, I felt like there was more that I should do, and it dawned on me to visit the newsroom of The Daily.

It seemed like an opinion, after all.

There was only one problem: I’d never really read the paper. I knew that there were columnists who had mug shots, and I figured I’d get to name my column (and even had one in mind: The Powderhorn) and life would be good. So it was with these misconceptions that I walked through the door of Communications 132.

The opinion editor decided to run it, and said nothing about getting a mug shot or a name for the column. In short, I got edited and was shown the door.

By the time the paper hit the streets, I’d forgotten about the editing changes I’d agreed to. And when I saw the illustration that ran with it, I was livid – what had seemed to me like a pseudo-intelligent explanation of my position had become a racist diatribe.

I told myself that I’d make a better opinion editor than the one I’d dealt with – though it really wasn’t true considering that being able to write is a prerequisite to being able to edit. So, I did the only thing I could: I decided to never again set foot in The Daily.

As you can imagine, it didn’t happen that way. By fall of last year, I was job searching and decided that maybe I could give the paper another chance. I wanted to write and design – and the pay wasn’t horrible.

In the end, I designed around 135 of last year’s papers and wrote around 30 columns, including 10 entitled “The Powderhorn.” There was only one thing left to make my delusional ideas from last April a reality, and that was to become opinion editor.

So here I am. How the hell it happened, I’m not sure.

While I have your attention, here’s a general idea of what you can expect from Opinion this quarter. The regular features of the section include staff editorials Monday though Thursday and “The Powderhorn” on Wednesday.

Friday will see a totally different format. Called “Perspective,” it will focus more on life in general than issues. It will feature Max’s Waxes, wherein Max Wallace will look at those parts of life that we don’t necessarily think consciously about, and The Good News, Carrie Nutt’s guided tour through those less-savory stories in the Bible that they never mention in church – just in time for the impending Armageddon.

Now the only thing I need for a great section is you. Whether you write a letter to the editor or inadvertently take the first step toward being opinion editor by writing a rogue column, the diversity of ideas that you will bring to this section will be its strength.

So, I don’t ever want to see a letter to the editor which says anything to the effect of “You always show such one-sided viewpoints. I totally disagree, but you’ll never run opinions from anyone who disagrees.” If you send me one of those, you’ll get a form response asking you why you didn’t write a column on your viewpoint.

I have no sympathy for people who bitch about the world without trying to change it.

After all, changing the world is why I’m here.

You should be, too.