er elsewhere, I came to TU looking for a home. I found that home at the Collegian. I have found many things to be grateful for during my time at the University of Tulsa, but the Collegian certainly stands above the rest.
My first Collegian article was an opinion piece on allowing instant replay in Major League Baseball. Mistakenly, I submitted the article with the line, “[The opponents of instant replay] claim instant replay would pervade the pace of the game, like a failing pacemaker in one of their ancient hearts.” What I thought was too insensitive to print made the editors laugh. I had no idea I could be funny. I still don’t.
Nonetheless, the editors at the time bequeathed me my own column, The Bleacher Creature. More than just a space for “funny” jokes, the column allowed me to truly write in my own voice. As the cliche goes, college is a time to discover yourself. I found myself in a sports column that critiqued the New Orleans Pelicans’ terrifying mascot and ripped Ray Rice for using his wife as his punching bag. Much to my surprise, I even landed an award or two for my apparently halfway decent writing.
More importantly, I had the fortune of working with people who challenged my worldviews and made an incredible newspaper. The Collegian attracts some of the most interesting people at TU. There’s never a shortage of opinions.
In my brief two years with the paper, I saw the cover transform into artwork. The articles changed from mundane to inciting and controversial. While the rest of the paper criticized a haphazard rape investigation, I continued with my sports musings. This diversity of The Collegian produced a paper any university would be proud of. Certainly, I couldn’t be any prouder of my friends, and I couldn’t be any more grateful to them for making me feel truly at home.
To J. Christopher Proctor, thank you for welcoming me into the Collegian with open arms and publishing the ridiculous articles I wrote. To Liz Cohen, thank you for holding my hand as I figured out how to be Business and Advertising Manager. To Will Bramlett, thank you for being the sports section for a year and for always being in the office to hang out. To Morgan Krueger, thank you for turning all the office furniture upside down and for always having a smile on your face. You’re going to make a hell of an Editor-in-Chief. To Conor Fellin and Kyle Walker, thank you for doing one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen anyone do, by exposing the University’s injustice toward Trey Barnett. To Matt Rechtien, thank you for putting up with my notoriously late articles and for finally accepting my pleas to work as sports editor. The Collegian’s better off having you. To everyone else, thank you for making Sundays my favorite day of the week.
Jesse Keipp
Business & Ad. Manager
