Fighting for Pulse's Future- Vanessa Cruz-Rivera

Alumni Statement Regarding Defunding Student Media

To whom it may concern, 

Jennifer Green reached out to inform many alumni about the threat to defund the Observer and PULSE Magazine — I would like to join in reiterate how valuable student media is to the CWU community and students alike. 

I worked on PULSE Magazine from 2015 to 2018 as a graphic designer and creative director later in my career. During my time there, I received invaluable experience and mentorship that I simply did not get from my classes alone. Working at PULSE truly shaped the trajectory of the career, and I would not have the opportunities that I have now without the experience I received while spending countless hours on the magazine. To minimize and downgrade the amount of work and effort that students put into student media is incredibly disappointing.

As the Creative Director, I witnessed first-hand not only how much work we put in to the design of the magazine, but how hard and how passionate the reporters put in to writing their stories. We worked on many issues tackling tough subjects like the rise of sexual assault reports on campus, the Black Lives Matter movement, and eating disorders in athletes — the reporters of these stories did not take these topics lightly. We recognized the importance of journalism, as my dear friend and former EIC Bailey Williams wrote in her editor's note for the Fall 2016 Issue Two edition, "our jobs as journalists is to give a voice to the voiceless" — that driving sentiment has been carried on through so many issues, well beyond after I graduated. 

If you look back at farewells from previous seniors in PULSE, you'll see many of us signing off with "PULSE for Life" — is it cheesy? Sure, but the sentiment was always genuine. Once you spend hours late in to the night making sure the writing was edited and accurate, the photoshoots were completed on time, and the designs worked in harmony with the stories being told, with people who are so hard working and dedicated to craft — that feeling of community sticks with you. I look back fondly for my time at PULSE and have loved watching it continue to grow over the years. I can only hope that the decision to defund student media will be reconsidered, or else the loss of print media to the campus will be a devasting one.

I hope this email helps in some small way, and should you need anything additional from me, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

Thank you, 

Vanessa Cruz-Rivera