Alma Jorgenson – Opinion Columnist

Joining The Weekly was one of the best things I have done during my time at Gustavus. It is my opinion that writing for a college newspaper is one of the most impactful things that a college student can do. One thing I tell my writers over and over is that the administration actually reads the paper, sometimes even writing a letter that they want to be published. During my time at Gustavus I have seen a variety of student organizations trying to get the administration to listen to their voices. Some noticeable rise ups being the protest of the Kavanaugh window in 2018, the Groundswell that was in spring of 2019, and the demand for clarity from the administration on indiginous relations last spring.
Without knowing exactly what happened after these events, I find it hard to pinpoint whether or not they were successful. What I do know is that I hear students talking about the same problems year after year. It’s always been my understanding that administrators just tell them that it’ll take 4 years to fix whatever the student is passionate about in hopes that it’ll go away after they graduate. Which means that the students need their own systems to rise up in.
Luckily we have a few of those things already established.

The Weekly is one of them. We are 100 years old this year. Generations of Gusties have been putting pen to paper to make changes.

One thing that carries this legacy is the college archives (if you haven’t had the opportunity to to check them out you should do that soon). Back in the day they were able to publish things that we now classify as untouchables. There are also a bunch of articles about John Denver and who doesn’t love that.
Along with The Weekly, Student Senate also is a vehicle for change on this campus. Sometimes projects take longer than 4 years to complete but luckily there are representatives from all class years at the table. I had the honor of being on Student Senate my first two years at Gustavus and I remember many conversations about getting compost bins into dorm rooms. I was pleasantly surprised to find my little green bin during move-in.
The college radio station KGSM has the potential to be one of these Gustavus powerhouses as well. It is struggling more than the other two because it doesn’t get the funding or technical support it needs. It also doesn’t necessarily have the inter-class representation that is really needed to keep these organizations strong. When new leadership comes in it is like they are stranded on a boat in the middle of nowhere with no compass or maps, no fault of their own.
Us Gusties are very socially minded for the most part. We have diversity that if given a space to do so can help create some beautiful change, not just within the campus but when we leave the hill as well.
Getting practice on speaking up and following your value systems is one of the main reasons college’s exist. We get to be in safe closed door classrooms with professors who are supposed to be helping us understand how to use our words to express ourselves. It seems like something you learn in kindergarten but it is important to the average adult as well.
Right now I’m taking a class called Book Burning. It may be the coolest class I’ve taken thus far. We talk in depth about the power that literature has over society, the power of words is like no other. How do we as adults wield that power in a world where the average tweet is 260 characters? Or in a world where fake news and the threat of fake news is at every corner?
I don’t have an answer. But being able to be part of Student Senate, KGSM, and The Weekly have really opened my eyes to the backworkings of change. Let me tell you, it’s messy. Making policy changes, staying on air, and creating news that you can hold in your hand is so challenging. Hard work keeps it going.
The Weekly has had over 100 years of hard work, so has KGSM. That’s something that we should all be proud of. The generations of students who care enough about the campus to record and report what is going on. It’s a legacy that I am truly honored to be a part of.
Some days I really complain about Gustavus, and there are lots of things to complain about, but going into Homecoming Week 2021 after a year and a half of COVID and seeing The Weekly and KGSM turn 100 really makes me proud to be a Gustie. Happy Birthday to The Weekly, and here’s to another 100 years.