As another school year has come to an end, so has my time at U of T and at the Herald. This is a bittersweet piece to write, since the Herald is the thing that I’ve been involved with the longest at U of T and it has become a small part of my identity. So, I would like to dedicate this piece to everyone who has been on the Herald’s masthead, the Innis community, and everybody who has read my dozen or so pieces over the past four years.

Now that we have that out of the way, how does a student join a school newspaper? My personal experience was quite spontaneous and, to be honest, I don’t remember how I got involved. I had always had an interest in writing and I believe I responded to an email calling for contributions in my first year because I thought I should give it a shot.

In my first year, I stuck to writing features—as a political science major, they were mostly about political issues. They were fun and relatively stress-free—there were many times when I would write the articles last minute, feeling little pressure since I know that the Herald isn’t too widely read. The Herald was a comfortable space that allowed me to experiment in my writing and have a place to write freely.

I know that that sounds weird, but as a person who is generally non-confrontational (but also highly opinionated), the Herald was a good place to test myself before going out into the bigger media world.

My second year is reflective of that sentiment. When I realized that I could write newspaper articles that would actually be published, I answered a call for papers in U of T’s undergraduate political science journal, POLIS. I submitted an op-ed on political polarization at the end of my first year, following the theme of a piece I wrote in the Herald that explored partisanship on campus.

The op-ed was published and I went to the journal launch at the Department of Political Science’s lounge (I had nothing else to do). There, I met the incoming Features Editor at the Varsity, Kaitlyn Simpson. I had plans to volunteer in some position at the Varsity going into my second year, but meeting Kaitlyn put me on the Features mailing list before second year began. After writing a piece for the Varsity over the summer, I applied for the position of Associate Features Editor and got it. That year, I also happened to become a copy editor for the Herald, so it was a pretty busy year for me.

Shortly after my stint as Associate Features Editor ended, I lost the election for the Features Editor position. Unfortunately, the style of the new Features Editor clashed with my own, so I stopped writing for the Varsity but remained involved as a contributor for the Herald.

I guess this part of the story encompasses a few things. One, it’s the story of being involved on campus. Two, it’s the story of improving certain skills—communication, collaboration, editing, and writing—that are transferable into the working world. Three, it’s the story of discovering yourself.

There are a few reasons why people tend to join clubs. The shallowest reason is that it looks good on job and grad school applications. But more than that, people will join clubs because it’s an activity that they want to explore and they want to see if they like it.

When I joined the Herald, I had never formally written anything for a newspaper. For my first article, I looked up stylistic guides, paragraph guides, all the stops. As I’ve written more pieces, I’ve stopped being so formal and, more importantly, I’ve developed my voice as a writer. The way I imagine my voice is similar to my vocal voice, which is basically a mixture of personal narrative and formal writing, with a bit of extra cheer.

However, finding my voice was just one aspect of my writing. I think people who have not written for papers don’t realize that we can technically write about whatever we want. I usually go for the pitches that the masthead designs, but sometimes I’ll choose my own. If you’re interested in contributing to media publications, or anything else, don’t be afraid to pitch your own ideas and write about what matters most to you. I believe that most people can write well enough to contribute something to papers so, even if you aren’t fully confident in your writing abilities, you should give it a shot.

I believe that most people can write well enough to contribute something to papers

Why should you contribute? I would say to practice writing for an audience. Regardless of the reason, knowing how to properly articulate your writing is valuable in all aspects of your life. Whether you need to pitch a product or promote a political cause, practicing your argumentation and writing in general will benefit many aspects of your life. The Herald is a good place for that, too—it’s a public avenue, but has a smaller readership than publications like the Varsity, making it less intimidating to contribute when you’re starting out. If you ever need writing samples for job or program applications, you can take them from your list of articles written—I used my Herald articles to successfully apply to multiple competitive graduate programs.

But most importantly, you should contribute because it allows for you to explore who you are. I’ve discovered where I stand on the political spectrum, which can be challenging as a young person. I’ve also learned about how my family’s culture and Canadian culture shapes my experience in Canada. I’ve learned about urban development, I’ve learned about government policy, electoral and partisan politics, and I’ve learned about environmental initiatives. I’ve learned about cybersecurity and I’ve learned about interesting facets of Toronto’s history.

most importantly, you should contribute because it allows for you to explore who you are

Most of all, I’ve learned that you can’t rely on others to write or talk about the things that are important to you. You need to express that message in the best way you can. If you can’t be technical, don’t be. If you can’t be casual, don’t be. But don’t wait for the perfect pitch to get involved—U of T’s campus newspapers are a great place to find your voice. If you’re just starting out, the Herald always welcomes new contributors with open arms.