I was somewhere between the newsroom and conference room B when the five cups of coffee began to take hold.

I remembered that my Nikon D-50 and my Digital 8, supplied by the journalism department and my bedroom, were my only assistants for the day, aside from a half-empty pack of Bugler tobacco and one bottle of Xanax and one of Valium, as well as a sixth cup of coffee, how the hell am I supposed to deal with politicians objectively? I would come to recall these upcoming months as a grueling trial of my patience not only as an editor on La Voz Weekly, but as a human being, realizing that politics is an evil, evil drug that I would never get near my bloodstream.

I can only imagine how addicting the thought of changing the world for a better future must be, although it lacks the instant gratification and simplicity of drug use. I imagine this to be very frustrating for the members of the current Student Senate, who appear to actually believe in the causes that they fight for. I like to make cracks about their radical ideas (i.e. suggesting burning books to symbolize the death of education), but I believe that even if their efforts aren’t successful, they have the right spirit.

On this particular occasion, I went to an ICC meeting (Inter Club Council) in an attempt to obtain a booth for La Voz on Club Day, where we could distribute the newspaper with a cup of coffee – a sad but endearing last ditch effort declaring the death of print journalism.

I then chose to cover the meeting, not out of fear, nor loathing, but because I did have a camera, and there was space to fill on newspaper pages which simply translates into slack that editors have to pick up. Being part of the media has become a burden, sizably comparable to Rush Limbaugh, and just by attending this meeting, among others, I’ve realized the power of the media, and how it can shape public opinion as long as the public isn’t afflicted with the apathetic American perspective that erupted in the late 20th century, spewing “get rich quick” schemes into every television set in America.

So after the coverage of the meeting, and the karaoke booth the very next day, not to mention the DASB Open House, adolescent apathy prevailed over the event they had intended to be informational to students with no knowledge of student government. The severance of communication between the government and media turned the DASB into a one-ring circus, with representatives patting themselves on the back instead of patting strangers on the back and welcoming them with open arms, which appeared to be a failure, as far as the current senate is concerned. Keith Hubbard, VP of environmental sustainability, expressed to me that the media and Student Senate should be working together, not apart, after a long conversation about how their outreach could be more effective. We drew the conclusion that there is a need for a political correspondent among our reporters, and the media does indeed have as much power as the government, and left it at that.