I had professor Reisner last semester for print news workshop when he told us abou his idea for his print news reporting class in the spring. He told us he was thinking of starting up an online newspaper, but the kicker was, he wanted to cover Liberty City. All I remember was the faces of terror as I looked around the room in contrast with the enthusiasm in the professor's voice. The whispers began immediately, many were afraid of the idea, and when the professor said it was going to take time out of class to be able to pull it off, that was their ticket out.
I remember being really interested in the idea. It was scary and intimidating in a way, but I knew I had it in me to do it. I knew because at the time I had also taken professor Reisner's Multi- Ethnic class, so the idea of covering a place where I've never been before intirugued me. For the multi-ethnic class I had gone to interview men at a barbershop in West Park called The Purple Palace. I knew that after that experience, I could do anything. That class taught me that fear and nerves can be a good thing. It taught me that most people just want to talk, want to be heard.
I mulled it over during the break I knew in my gut I wanted to take the class because I was never going to get an opportunity like this again.
First day of class, everything was still in the air, but I rusted things would fall into place. Since then, I have gone to Liberty City on a few ocassions. Once to drive around and see where things were and the next time as with my classmates. We all went to Jumbo's. I drove with my classmate Alexandra Martinez,and since I hadn't been able to go with the others to the MLK parade, I was excited to see what would happen. We were the first to arrive. We turned the corner and saw a group of guys hanging out across the street, next to the market..."what are we getting ourselves into?" I thought. We walked toward the front door, and Bobby Flam was standing in the parking lot with a big smile and an extended hand. I immediately felt at ease. He was so welcoming, and everyone inside was just a nice.
The whole experience was great, from the food to the conversation to all the things we learned about the prominent people in the community.
News about us partnering up with the South Florida Times made everything that much more real. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about something. This is really happening! Our stories are really going to get published! I cannot wait to really start going into the community and finding stories. This'll be the most challenging thing I have ever done, it's going to take a lot of work and dedication, but if we can all do it, then that makes me that much more confident that I'm doing the right thing.
