Statements like "I have a certain expectation when I drink whiskey, and that is for it to not taste like mangoes" are status quo in our office.
These musings and others define what it's like to work for The Lamron every week. We produce a weekly newspaper on a limited budget funded by mandatory student activity fees that every undergraduate student pays. But we're also a group of students, and driven as we may be, we're not completely serious about our jobs all the time – we, like any other college students, like to have fun.
As an editorial board, most of us devote anywhere from 15 - 30 hours of our time to The Lamron each and every week. We hold office hours, attend e-board meetings on Tuesday nights and spend our production nights working diligently in The Lamron office on Wednesdays … into Thursday mornings.
But sometimes, the office just isn't a conducive environment to getting much work done. Without a break here and there, and some comic relief, we'd probably go crazy. Since our e-board meetings tend to go so off topic sometimes, we have an unofficial meeting time before the official start of business to get all of our irrelevant musings out of our systems. As for trying to write or edit an article in the office, well, let's just say it's difficult when you're surrounded by eight other people having a conversation.
Wednesdays at The Lamron are production days, and we work furiously – most of the time – to get the paper ready for its Thursday release. We usually park ourselves at a desk, computer or on our beloved ratty orange couch with a set of headphones. Our gracious and adored editor-in-chief collects cash and orders for Sub-Zones and cheeseburgers from Pizza Paul's and University Hots throughout the night. Our crazed managing editor blasts Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift to the dismay of many.
We'd be nothing without the vending machine after 11 p.m. when Starbucks and the Geneseo University Store close. Recently, the newly installed vending machine downstairs in the Union has become the bane of our existence. We share the sentiment of one frustrated consumer who, after he inserted a few dollar bills, had that money spit back at him in nickels – and left with no food or beverage to his name.
During our precious overtime spent in this office, we've befriended the nighttime cleaners, cozied up in our humble quarters, and most importantly, forged friendships with one another that make the time we spend in Geneseo – and beyond – that much more newsworthy.