I

’m the first pair of eyes to proofread and verify the 
next big story, a fiery op-ed or routine coverage of 
a Board of Regents monthly meeting — it’s a big 

responsibility with a quick expiration date. After I make 
the initial copy notes and edits, articles cycle through 
four more editors before they are published that night. 
While ensuring impeccable grammar and adherence to 
Daily style are important, I admit I enjoy fact-checking 
most. This part of the copy editor’s role requires thorough 
yet speedy digging into public records. We confirm 
information on account of Ctrl + F and copy-and-pasting 
because good judgment isn’t enough. As I fact-check, I 
relish the opportunity to discover something new and 
obsess over it. Once I’m done, I pass the writing along 
to the senior copy editor and move onto the next fresh 
article waiting for me.

The job’s necessity of quick turnover shouldn’t bode 

well with my personality because usually I get overly 
attached to people and things — as you can imagine, 
college has not been easy. Here, everything changes 
rapidly in four years. You only get eight semesters to do 
it all: classes, passions and relationships. You lose and 
make friends faster than you can add them on Facebook. 
Your identity is molded before you realize who and what 
nudged you and when. By now, I have grown used to this 
fast-paced life that’s just like the copy desk’s nightly time 
crunch. One Thursday night this year, I read 14 articles 
over the course of three hours, a personal record.

At copy, you do your work well and pass it up to the next 

set of editing eyes. In life, you should care passionately 
and understand when to let go. Call it maturity or 
cynicism, but I am learning to move on and move along 
faster. Goodbyes and hellos are smoothly blurring 
together as the weeks accelerate.

There is one big shock, however, that hurts and still 

lingers: election night 2016.

Though the calendar shows me that we are three weeks 

removed, I cannot forget sitting in the newsroom as the 
polls closed across the country. As a copy editor, I was on 
shift that night and among other articles, edited one of 
two prepared versions of the editorial board’s breaking 
leftside. Then, the results began rolling in and coloring 

in the Electoral College map. As a student of politics 
and policy, I saw everything I had learned implode in 
front of my eyes. As a proud American voting in my first 
presidential election, I was crushed after believing in my 
candidate for nearly 19 months. The next morning, the 
draft editorial I had edited — and dutifully sent along in 
the workflow — was not published. And it never will be.

Gently, the influx of articles to edit and civic duties 

to uphold coaxed me out of my two-week hiatus and 
back into a fervent hurry. On some November night 
years from now, I look forward to recalling this 
pain and smiling at how far it has pushed me 
forward. I’ve got a nice college paper story 
— and now this column — ready for that 
glorious night when we finally elect 
the first woman president.

2B

Magazine Editor:

Karl Williams

Deputy Editors:

Nabeel Chollampat 

Lara Moehlman

Design Editor:

Shane Achenbach

Photo Editor:

Zoey Holmstrom

Creative Director:

Emilie Farrugia

Editor in Chief:

Shoham Geva

Managing Editor:

Laura Schinagle

Copy Editors:

Emily Campbell

Alexis Nowicki

Taylor Grandinetti

the statement

Wednesday, December 7, 2016 / The Statement

Copy That: Fast and Slow

B Y S O J U N G K I M

the
tangent

ILLUSTRATION BY SHANE ACHENBACH

