With journalism, we can serve one another

If you’ve ever spent any time with me, you probably think I’m a pretty cynical, sarcastic person.

I’m not going to dispute the sarcasm at all, but I have a secret for you: I’m a hopeless idealist.

Actually, maybe “hopeless” isn’t the right modifier (and I’m a copy editor, so it’s really important that I make the right word choice here).

I know the world is full of inequalities and injustices, full of situations where the powerful manipulate and exploit the weak.

You can bet I’m skeptical; journalists have to be. I’ve talked to enough people in positions of authority to understand that everyone has an agenda ““ and yes, that includes students and activists.

And yet.

I still believe that people are not inherently evil, and that we all have the innate ability and will to effect positive change.

Cynicism is the easy way out, and a shortcut to apathy.

It takes ““ and means ““ much more to fight every day for what we believe in, to take a stand on the issues that matter.

Part of what has made my journey through UCLA so rich was being able to speak to so many different individuals who are passionate about the causes they fight for or represent.

Even when I don’t share the opinions of those protesting or organizing, I feel energized by the fact that people still care enough to take action.

As much as the Internet and social media are transforming the way we interact with one another, people still draw together to show support for one another.

I saw it when I reported on the scientists who protested against attacks on researchers who perform experiments on animals, and I also saw it when I spoke with animal rights activists working to eliminate unnecessary cruelty to other living beings.

I saw people offering each other emotional support during the protests after Proposition 8 passed, like the father who seemed overwhelmed during a march in downtown Los Angeles. His daughter had recently come out to him, and while he was still processing his own emotions, he never doubted his unconditional love for her.

I saw people relying on strength in numbers during the protests outside of a UC Regents meeting at UC San Francisco, as union workers and nurses chanted and marched to remind everyone of the important work they do.

Being a reporter and a photographer has given me the chance to peer into the lives of those around me. I am grateful that so many of those people have shared their stories with me and have allowed me to share some of their private thoughts and experiences with the Daily Bruin’s readers.

I am also grateful because those people are a constant reminder of why I pursue journalism, in the face of all sound economic reasoning.

Because of them, I still believe that there are people out there who genuinely seek to put others before them, to serve others, not themselves.

Take Teagan Stedman, for example, the 9-year-old who organized a fundraiser for pediatric cancer research in honor of the older brother of a girl he carpools with.

Or Alex Berson, the 14-year-old who is finishing up chemotherapy for his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and is finding time to DJ, play bass guitar and raise money for cancer research.

Or the victim of sexual violence who found strength not only in sharing her own story to break the silence around such crimes, but also in helping others, both women and men, to heal.

Or the labor rights activists and factory workers I met in China, thanks to an unbelievably generous grant through the Bridget O’Brien Scholarship Foundation. Though they often feared for their safety, those workers know they deserve better; they organize to protect their own rights, and they work so hard so their children won’t have to.

I could fill entire newspapers with anecdotes from the field, or with the surge of optimism I feel thinking about the amazing people I have met working as a reporter, including my friends in the Daily Bruin newsroom, but I really should start learning to write within my inch counts.

So here it is: I believe in journalism, and I believe that it will survive. Every time I open up a newspaper, I am reminded that there are people out there working to hold those in power accountable.

I believe that we are all responsible for each other.

We are meant to serve one another, and every new day that we have is a reminder that we can all do better.

Kuo was the 2008-2009 director of editorial development, a 2007-2008 slot editor, and a news reporter and staff photographer from 2007 to 2009.