Ernie Pyle's prestige

I fell hopelessly in love with this campus less than a year ago.

Yes, I am a freshman, and not too long ago, I was one of those kids taking tours around campus in wonderment and awe at the beautiful buildings and all the strangers who walked past me with purpose.

But what really got me was the journalism school. I took a step in the bustling Indiana Daily Student newsroom, and I knew I was home.

I’m an out-of-state student, so I made sure to take my other options into deep consideration. I explored all the schools known for journalism in my area, and I settled here because the School of Journalism has a great reputation. It stands out boldly in the journalism field.

The journalism school on this campus is unique because it creates such a small atmosphere of learning with the added benefit of having a large pool of events and people to report on.

Well, now I’m worried. All of the reasons I chose this school are in jeopardy.

With the proposed merger of the School of Journalism, Department of Telecommunications and Department of Communication and Culture, the specialized journalism education I came here for would be generalized into the School of Communication, Media and Journalism.

So what’s the big deal? Yes, I realize that journalists also communicate and are also involved with the media. This is both true and painfully obvious. And I do realize that all of these departments do have some overlap, but as a journalism student, I shouldn’t have to take broad communication classes.

Journalists communicate differently than a cinema and media studies major, and a blanket communications class won’t make that any less true. We focus on ethics, conflicts and values specifically relevant to journalism.

And why would it be a problem for other similar departments to feed off of Ernie Pyle’s good name? Ernie Pyle was a journalist, and, like him, I want a career in journalism. I shouldn’t have to jump through big general hoops to study my specific career path.

In my general education classes, like finite and statistics, I don’t mind sitting next to a communications major because, most likely, we will have a lot in common. But when it comes to my degree-specific classes, I think I have the right to sit in a room with like-minded people who all envision themselves in the field of journalism like I do.

I am more than a communicator. I am a journalist, and I deserve to study like one.

­— jkaneshi@indiana.edu