For most of us, college is no walk in the park. It can be an extremely demanding and hectic period of our lives, and the fact that our performance and learning in these years could make or break our entire future adds a whole new level of pressure. So you might think that with all of this, a student’s time would be divided solely into two- study and relaxation. Being as inherently lazy as most of us are, we would be expected to try and get by doing as little as is humanly possible, or at least to select the activities most likely to help our career.
Getting inspired by hard work
A look at MIT, however, would destroy all of these assumptions. With over a hundred different clubs and organizations, students seem to be actively seeking out extra work to take up. They sacrifice sleep and, sometimes, grades, putting in every last bit of their energy into something which seemingly they get nothing out of.
Three years ago, one passionate individual gave his everything to bring into existence the official student-run media body of the college. Two years after that, I, prodded on by my love for journalism and writing, joined this organisation and soon found myself more at home than anywhere else in the college. Even being the socially awkward part-time introvert that I was, I made friends here almost as easily as I failed to make friends anywhere else. I suppose the shared interests and passions helped. Working for the MIT Post was the only time when I found myself not held back by laziness.
Tougher the challenge, greater the fun!
It was only in my second year there, as a sub-editor, that I fully appreciated the commitment that some members of the staff showed to this organisation. This appreciation hit hard during Techtatva 2017. During the fest, the activity in NLH doesn’t stop when most of the college begins to wind down. Among the different fest categories that make their way to the building are the staff of The MIT Post. The writers, having spent the entire afternoon covering the various events around, sit down and start typing out reports on their laptops.
Nearing midnight, the sub-editors and the board start going through the entries, picking out a few to go into the newsletters for the next day. Some are sent for a rewrite and after that, for still more rewrites. When your write-up is only around 60 words long, every single word of it carries a lot of weight and needs to just right. There are instances when they’ve been sent back for over 50 rewrites. As small as the quirky little paragraphs in the newsletters might be, hours of effort goes into it all the same.
During this, the art team is busy threshing out the cover and other pages of the newsletter. Once the write-ups are accepted, which usually is at around two in the morning, the artists begin drawing artwork to accompany these.
After this, the designers begin laying out the pieces and making it ready for print. Those lucky enough to be done with their work trudge back to their rooms to get a few hours of sleep.
Students walking into the New Lecture Hall for their 8 am classes encounter tired Post members going in the opposite direction. Back-benchers, moving to their usual desks, are confronted with a sleeping Head of Art lying across the chairs. Unceremoniously roused, the Head of Art walks to his own class and collapses there.
It’s all worth it in the end
In a few hours, the fest comes to life again, and The MIT Post gets back to work. Hundreds of newsletters are handed out to partakers. Some toss it away without a second glance; many more read through it from cover to cover. Every sight of someone doing this is a reinforcement, a reminder that it is all worth it.
A copy of each day’s newsletter also finds a place in several of the staff’s shelves; a piece of art created not for profit or readership but solely for the sake of the art itself.
