We live in a generation full of watchers and tweeters. Young people see a problem in the community and instead of helping, they just watch. They see something t
hat they don’t like, an injustice and instead of trying to solve the problem, they just tweet about it. Maybe that tweet will gain some attention but after a few weeks people will forget about that tweet. People make a little noise but their voices are not loud enough. Why is that?
Well it’s because watching and making a little noise is not going to lead to real changes. It’s not going to lead to the type of powerful impact the world needs. We need more biters and less barkers. Donna Ladd is a biter.
Instead of waiting around for someone else to tell these stories, she went and created her own newspaper to cover important issues. It’s inspiring because it shows the power of action. With all the issues involving race, sexism and religion, it is up to us millennials to stop tweeting and get more active. The Jackson Free Press is an example of the power the press has.
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On Michigan State’s campus alone there are so many untold stories of discrimination, sexual abuse and other injustices. With the recent scandals on campus, I wonder who’s going to be the one to give the voiceless a voice? Are we going to continue to let others tell our stories? Or will we as the youth have the courage to be like Donna?
Many young journalists have the dream of covering something cool like the Super Bowl or the Grammy Awards. But who’s going to cover the hard issues? The stories people like to sweep under the rug.
After Donna’s discussion I hope it has inspired us to get out there and start doing. There’s a cliche that says, be the change you want to see in the world. I have another one; if we want to move forward we first have to make a move.
Spartans Innovate 
“We need more biters and less barkers. Donna Ladd is a biter.” Haha. Well, I bark a bit as well (@donnerkay), but I get your point. And thank you.
I do encourage you and other students to have the courage to go find those important stories and tell them. One of the things too often missing in journalism is courage, and it’s being defined very loosely today. The civil rights veterans had courage; we should simply be doing our job. To me, it doesn’t require courage to tell the truth, or it shouldn’t. We can’t be weak and meek and expect no criticism for truth-telling. That makes no sense to me. I’m not on earth to win popularity contests, and no journalist should be (or to me, person). We must do what needs to be done. Accepting that can be very freeing — and ironically, you become quite popular when you do, except with people who don’t want you telling the truth. We can’t give them the power by allowing it to bother us.
Excellent work is the best response. Always.
Go get ’em!
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