KTA initiates

Remember the river

Journalists must interpret the flow of the river of civilization for those on the banks, Deanna Sands told the Kappa Tau Alpha (KTA) members, initiates and guests on April 2.

Sands was the speaker at the KTA initiation breakfast held that morning at the Nebraska Union. She used Will Durant’s analogy of the river and its banks to frame the advice she gave to the young journalists who attended the event.

Fifty-nine students –juniors, seniors and graduate students – were initiated into membership in the Will Owen Jones Chapter of KTA. Melissa Taylor, a senior broadcasting major, received the Top Scholar Award in recognition of her 4.0 grade point average.

Excerpts from Sands’ speech are reprinted below:

“AS I asked myself what I could tell you that mattered, that would help you prepare for what’s ahead, I turned to a man who I consider to be an elegant writer and an elegant thinker, Will Durant.
“Durant writes: ‘Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and doing the things historians usually record; while 0n the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry and even whittle statues. The story of civilization is the story of what happened on the banks. Historians are pessimists because they ignore the banks for the river.’

“I would add one thing Journalists must swim the river while others live on the banks. For as the river nourishes the land and as the land changes the course of the river, so does history overflow, so does history overflow into daily lives while our hopes and dreams channel the course of history.

“We as journalist must interpret flow of the river for those on the banks. It is not an easy task.

“As you move through your career, you will have to draw on every piece of knowledge, every bit of wisdom and every scrap of advice to deal with the situations you will face. That truly is the value of your education. It is the framework that helps you deal with reality. It is the beginning of learning.

“Between now and graduation, you will attend many more breakfasts, lunches and dinners. And you will hear many more words of advice. But I hope that you will remember the river. And the banks. They offer you a wonderful journey and exhilarating challenges.

“Before you go today, I want you to wish you three things: the courage to think, for think you must; the patience to discern, for answers take time and the fortitude to speak out. Because if you think and discern, you can do nothing else but speak out.

“And please don’t forget to laugh along the way.”