Forty-Niner was my home, my prison

Some may think working on a college newspaper is like belonging to a club -- you work a few hours each day, chat with friends and then go home at a reasonable hour. But it's more like working in a sweatshop.

First there's the long hours. I busted my brain about 50 plus hours a week for the paper, sometimes giving up weekends and staying up until 2 a.m. or later for some issues.

Then there were the work conditions. Tucked away in the basement of the Social Sciences/Public Affairs Building basement, the "dungeon" (a.k.a. the Forty-Niner offices) has poor air circulation, no sunlight and plenty of foul smells. And get this: Opening the doors to improve air quality actually worsens the airflow. But that's just the beginning. Other ulcer producers included difficult-to-work-with sources and staffers and computers crashing during paper production (extending the sweat-shop-long hours).

After spending so much mental energy and time on the paper, I was turning in papers late, showing up late to class or ditching to handle the paper's problems.While in class, sometimes I was so tired I could barely keep conscious. One time, I struggled so hard to keep my eyes open I think I fell asleep with them open.

But I've learned tons about the workforce and the bureaucratic corporate structure working for the Forty-Niner in the last two years. I've realized anywhere you go there'll be difficult people, stress, long hours and deadlines.

But enough about my home's prison aspects. I also owe many friends -- and great memories -- to the Forty-Niner. To pass time in the dungeon, other staffers and I joked, cursed our journalism professors and shared interesting stories.

But perhaps the most memorable moments came from the partying. We've done drunken karaoke, hopped the Second Street bars like high Budweiser frogs, and stumbled down the Las Vegas strip with Everclear-spiked slurpies.

One time last semester, I drank so much that I filled up my friend Jimmy Chai's sink with puke. One editor, Manuel Gamiz Jr., recorded my oral vandalism.

Another time, I and editors We$ Wood$ II and Ken Hanson strolled into a bar in La Verne during a newspaper conference, looking to bring some ladies back to our hotel rooms. We ended up bringing about 10 ?20 people back. We partied until 7 a.m. the next morning.

So many memorable moments, as well as instances of torment. Leaving home is hard -- but it's time to move on.

Matthew L. Green is editor in chief of the Daily Forty-Niner.