Chips Quinn Scholars teach us something about ourselves
By Dionicio (Don) Flores
Executive Vice President and Editor, El Paso (Texas) Times
02.19.01
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| Don Flores |
When the Chips Quinn Scholars walk into our newsroom every summer, we see our future. We see the students of today become the journalists of tomorrow, their talents blossoming as they tackle each assignment.
We consider them crucial to our operation, not only because they contribute so much to the product during their visits here, but also because they represent our commitment to nurturing young professionals.
We recently hired another of the scholars who worked with us last summer, Larry Monarrez, a young man who displayed a strong passion and commitment to journalism. After completing his internship, Larry went on the edit the University of Texas at El Paso newspaper. He was the sixth Chips Quinn Scholar we have hired full time since we began hosting Scholars several years ago.
But even if we do not end up hiring these fine young scholars, we want to provide them with an experience that will make them feel positive about the profession. These young people deserve that commitment, because they are vibrant and dedicated, their enthusiasm and eagerness serving as wonderful reminders of how much fun journalism can be.
What makes the program even more appealing to us is that these students hail from diverse backgrounds. Of the nine Chips Quinn Scholars who have worked at the Times, three were African-American and six were Hispanic, including one whose family was from El Salvador. This was significant, because we pride ourselves on being sensitive to diverse members of our community. And the more our staff mirrors that diversity, the more accurately we can portray the people we cover every day, with the dignity and the respect they deserve.
Historically, minorities have been represented in condescending terms in newspapers throughout the country. We find that as reprehensible as the most egregious error in a news report. One way to help us avoid this is by hiring diverse talent.
The diverse scholars teach us about themselves and their backgrounds, but, perhaps more importantly, they teach us something about ourselves. They show us how other people look at us, and the significance of that cannot be overestimated. When we start roaming beyond our narrow realm, we grow as human beings and, thus, as journalists. The beneficiaries are not just the members of the newsroom, but the community as a whole.
And for that, we can thank the scholars ... and other young journalists like them ... who enlighten us.