Josh Hirsch: For me, the DP did its job

When I was looking at colleges, a big factor in my 17-year-old head was sports.

I saw one school's chancellor talk about how excited he is that his school no longer focuses on athletics. On a tour at another, I scoffed when the guide explained how while the school's teams are horrible, some students still cheer for them.

When I finally (on May 1, at midnight) chose to attend Penn, I knew that I would be going to a great school and all that, but also a place where sports mattered and there was a great "unofficial journalism department."

And while I may not always love everything about Penn fans, or their level of support, they are so much better than so many of the other schools I have traveled to.

As for the journalism department, also known as The Daily Pennsylvanian, it was the single most defining aspect of my college career.

I've spent all sorts of time at the windowless pink palace on Walnut Street. I've made many great friends (with whom I've set up countless inside jokes).

And while I'm no Jon Tannenwald, I am retiring from the DP as the active leader in articles written. So I must have done something right.

Looking back at my very first byline, "M. Tennis opens season at Princeton Invitational," a preview brief September of my freshman year, I could only have dreamed of rising through the DP ranks as I did. From the first article, I also realize that my writing has improved a great deal. So the journalism department has certainly done its job.

I could not have done it without the help of the countless athletes, coaches, athletic communications staff members, other media members and family and friends I interacted with, even if I wanted to strangle some of them at the time. And I thank them all deeply.

Coming into Penn, I didn't realize this would be possible at an Ivy League school. But I've gone to the Dean Dome, Cameron Indoor and Rupp Arena, interviewed great college and professional players, and got to see the sorts of places I'd never imagined I could get to at Penn.

The most important part of my DP career, though, was my year as senior sports editor in 2005.

Aside from the great pride I got every morning from seeing a section that I helped create, the rest of that experience cannot be duplicated.

I learned how to deal with all sorts of people, learned how to make a few difficult decisions, and really grew as a person (literally in some ways - spending eight hours a day in a windowless office while being a full-time student isn't the best for your health) along the way.

And while some of my non-newspaper friends and family members may give me some flack for all the time I spent there, I don't think people who are not part of something comparable can understand exactly what it's like to have that much responsibility and influence around campus.

Not many other jobs on campus can get you angry hate mail or message board posts blasting you. And while that's never pleasant, I truthfully enjoyed the experience.

And as much as I wanted to write this column filled with jokes or insults, I just couldn't do it. The DP deserves better in my last hurrah.

But I will end with a preposition, because I think that's okay, English teachers be damned.

If there's one thing I can take home from my time at 4015 Walnut, it's that you can do whatever you hope to, even if it's something you have to work hard for.

Josh Hirsch is a 2007 College graduate from Roslyn, N.Y. and is former Senior Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is jjhirsch@sas.upenn.edu.

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