May 3: In Three Weeks

This is the extent of my knowledge about graduation:

1. It is May 24, 2 p.m.

2. It is being held at the Towson Center Arena

3. I’ll be there, along with fellow graduates of the College of Fine Arts and Communication

That’s it.

I should rephrase that first sentence. That was the extent of my knowledge prior to this afternoon when the topic came up in my Mass Media Graphics class. A bunch of us were tossing around our questions, which led to one conclusion: none of us have any clue how any of this commencement stuff works, and the powers that be at Towson have not quite gone out of their way to provide much info about the ceremony. Apparently seating is pretty random, loosely based on major or track. It doesn’t last all that long (according to our professor, Sharyn Sousa, although that may have had something to do with their speaker not showing up). And when you take the stage you are handed donation applications to the alumni association and a commemorative ‘Bob’s Blog’ paperweight (this may or may not be true).

That’s all well and good. But the biggest question is this:

Who is the commencement speaker?

I decided to google ‘2007 commencement speakers’ and the first big name to draw my attention is Chris Matthews, as in MSNBC’s Hardball With Chris Matthews, who will be speaking at Lynn University. I actually looked at Lynn. It’s a fairly new school, with a heavy focus on broadcast journalism, and is located in Boca Raton, Florida. Then I found names like Bill Clinton (Harvard–apparently Bill Gates will be there as well, Michigan, Middlebury, and a stop at New Hampshire with Bush Sr.), Oprah (Howard), Dick Cheney (BYU), Barack Obama (Southern New Hampshire University). Bucknell has Bob Woodward. Saint Vincent College has Dubya. Carnegie Mellon has Bill Cosby. Northwestern has Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Union College, Charles Gibson. UVA, John Grisham. Livingstone College, Tom Joyner.

As far as I know, no name has been announced for Towson. But after looking at some of the people that are speaking at the above schools, I’m convinced Towson can field someone good. Granted, I don’t know too much about some of these schools, and there could be connections with the speakers that I’m not aware of. But Middlebury? New Hampshire? Southern New Hampshire? Southwestern New Hampshire Technical College of Vermont? Union? There’s a Union College? Is there a Confederate University? If so they probably landed Stonewall Jackson, or someone awesome like that.

If I were in charge of picking Towson’s commencement speaker, these would be my candidates:

April 30: 1-to-1

I’m looking forward to having 9-hour work days.

As of now that sounds like time off. Vacation. A break. Because on days like today my schedule is packed. Nine? More like 12. Better yet, 16. And I only got paid for two of those hours.

My day started at 8:30, when I woke up to do circulation for The Towerlight, something I am in my fourth semester of doing. After that was class. Back to my apartment for lunch and a shower. Then the 12-hour run (as described in today’s title) began.

1-3: Shooting and digitizing a stand-up for my sportscasting class.

3-6: Towerlight editorial board elections.

6-8: Dinner break.

8-1: Finishing the sportscasting feature on Towson Lacrosse player, Bobby Griebe.

Granted, it could have been a far more stressful day. And it’s hard to complain after a two-hour dinner break. But still. The look shown above on the face of Fernando Madrigal, a fellow WMJF-member, pretty much tells the story on days like these.

But hey. At least I got home in time to see the Nuggets drop to 3-1 against the Spurs tonight. Why wouldn’t I want to see J.R. Smith hoist an off-balance three-pointer with 30 seconds left, down 4, and with Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony on the court. Makes perfect sense. Do your thing J.R. You’re now 0-325 from beyond the arc in the playoffs. In case you haven’t heard, UNC has withdrawn their scholarship offer. Tough break.

This reminds me of something I was thinking about today (not that it should). As I was working on the Griebe feature, I kept thinking about how the thought process of a journalist and that of an athlete is so vastly different (like I said, not at all related to J.R. Smith thinking he belongs in the same stratosphere as Bubbachuck and Melo).

April 29: On the Way Out

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the waning moments of my college career. It finally hit me today. Sort of.

Since the spring semester of my freshman year I have been on the The Towerlight staff. My Sundays and Wednesdays have been dedicated, in one way or another and to varying degrees, to putting out Monday’s and Thursday’s issues. That’s not even beginning to take into consideration the hundreds of games I have covered over the last three-plus years. This has been the case this semester more than any other. My responsibilities were heightened as Associate Sports Editor. I have literally spent full days in the office reading, writing, editing, and podcasting. It’s been stressful, frustrating, exhausting, and at times aggravating. But, as I have said before, it has been my most enjoyable semester at the paper.

And as of tomorrow afternoon, my time as an official member of the sports staff will be over.

Towerlight elections are held a couple weeks before the end of each term so as to give the new regime a chance to get their feet wet before they are truly thrown into the fire at the start of the next semester. With hundreds of issues as a Assistant or Associate Sports Editor behind me, I will be demoted to Senior Writer, along with current Editor in Chief Brian Stelter.

It’s a bit strange.

‘The office’ has become such a major part of my life. I have scheduled my classes around the newspaper. Developed some of my most cherished relationships at Towson in University Union room 313. And have countless memories dating back to my first talk with former Sports Editor Brent Kennedy.

I don’t know if I ever intended to pursue a newspaper job after college. But my time at the Towerlight has solidified writing as a passion, and at the very least a career possibility. It may not be a full-time vocation. But it is something I hope to continue doing in some capacity for the rest of my life. My name may never again be found in a newspaper’s staff box. But whenever someone asks me what I plan on doing after college, I always mention that I plan on pursuing opportunities as a freelance writer (hopefully in the magazine side of things). It’s a unique craft. One I have developed an extremely deep appreciation for.

This is certainly not to say that my days with The Towerlight are finished. I still plan on dedicating a significant portion of my Sundays and Wednesdays to the paper. Not being obligated to go in is like getting a day off of school when you’re a kid. You don’t really know what to do with yourself.

But it won’t be the same. No real responsibilities, other than the occasional story (and the looming Senior Commentary). Things will get done without me (not like they wouldn’t have otherwise…but you know what I mean). My presence is no longer necessary.

My days are either numbered, or over. Depends on how you look at it. But hey, one of my final articles was a Women’s Volleyball spring update, and thanks to Jermon Bushrod, I finished up my official days with my third career cover story. That adds him to the list of people I owe immense gratitude to for a great four years with the paper.

Thanks.

In a little while
I’ll be gone
The moment’s already passed
Yeah it’s gone
And I’m not here
This isn’t happening
I’m not here
I’m not here
-Thom Yorke, Radiohead

*The above picture is the Donut Cake that PSmith literally dreamt up. His girlfriend Kate brought it in this afternoon to help celebrate his 22nd birthday. I wasn’t kidding about the dream thing. A few weeks ago a donut cake, comprised of chocolate frosted donuts, appeared in a dream of his. To be honest I’m a bit surprised I didn’t come up with this idea myself. And in case you’re wondering, it was delicious. Happy birthday, Pat.

April 25: ‘Jermon’s Journey’

I had a far more appropriate and telling picture picked for today’s post. Once PSmith snapped this picture there was no way any other would grace the April 25 entry. I’m holding a tissue I used to wipe a scratch I suffered from running into an open metal desk drawer. Pat is laughing at my imminent tetanus. Who wouldn’t? Ya know.

This is how The Towerlight office gets after 9 p.m. or so. There is a period between 9-midnight where all the stress subsides and virtually everything becomes humorous on some level. We all realize that it will be yet another late night, and we might as well enjoy the lighter moments. It’s generally my favorite portion of each production day.

Today was pretty low stress. I had one story to write, and it was part of my continual NFL Draft coverage of Towson offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod. He visited 12 teams in an 18 day period this month, and also had 10 teams visit him for individual workouts. All this aside from his very impressive pro day on March 14.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has him as his No. 7 offensive tackle in this year’s field. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King has ‘Bush’ as a third-rounder. If he ends up going day one, that will be huge for him (obviously) and for Towson’s program.

If you plan on watching this weekend’s NFL Draft, keep an ear out for Bushrod. NFL fans could be hearing from him in the coming years.

Did you know?

The last Towson player taken in the NFL Draft was Tony Vinson (5th round pick in 1994 by the San Diego Chargers).

Sean Landeta and Dave Meggett are both TU products.

Consider yourself enlightened.

**I forgot to mention (thanks for reminding me BD), I originally planned to do a Q&A with Kiper for the Towerlight. Unfortunately (and understandably) he did not have the time to do the interview. Had I known the date of his annual visit to Towson’s locker room, where he shoots his draft preview profiles, I may have been able to talk to him then. Oh well.