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Thursday, August 31, 2006

A former Daily Cal editor named Daniel Hernandez was profiled on LAist.com today. Daniel was actually at the Daily Cal when I was writing a column in my fifth year. I remember being really irritated at the way he covered a particular news story, thinking he was not even trying to be objective. The irritation kind of festered, and, watching later from afar (I was freelancing for WSJ and trying to finish school), I continued to be annoyed at various perceived flaws. And eventually quite jealous that he was hired straight from school onto the LA Times. It's funny how incredibly small these sorts of disputes seem in retrospect. Not just Daniel, but real, actual arguments, fights and disagreements from my college days. It just melts away, and you realize how much of it was in your own head. I've carried on very positive relationships with former UC Berkeley student government people I thought would never speak with me again, and a brilliant writer/comedian I inadvertantly turned into a national spectacle. I'm constanlty rooting for pretty much anyone who ever set foot in the Daily Cal offices. As it turns out, there are just too few people in this world trying to do the right thing, or to do something even vaguely similar to what you are doing, to get upset over how they are doing it. And even if it were worth getting upset, you'd often find yourself upset with someone you approved of a minute ago, and vice versa. As for Daniel, I'm incredibly impressed. He's clearly a thoughtful, dedicated writer. Write hard, die free.

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