It’s difficult to celebrate Women’s History Month when we are constantly reminded why a woman’s fight never truly ends. 

Out of six members of the executive board of The Chanticleer, three of us had the honor of attending College Media Association’s 2024 conference in New York City. Editor-in-Chief Madison Sharrock, Assistant Editor Brooke Bromberg and Art Director Frances Ludwig learned about the components of a student publication through design, journalism and leadership. 

We thought it was important to expand our knowledge outside of a classroom at Coastal Carolina University to bring back valuable lessons to share with our staff. 

One of the sessions at the conference, led by National News Reporter Emily Bloch and General Assignments Reporter Beatrice Forman for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Assistant Managing Editor Meg Wagner for CNN, focused on how to navigate and lead the media as a woman in a world where most editors are men. We female student journalists learned things we didn’t know we needed in a patriarchal society at “Women’s Work: How to Lead the Media.” 

The room full of aspiring journalists were taught to negotiate salaries, speak out against misogynistic comments in the workplace, how to say no and how to fit in a company without contorting themselves.  

We applaud the CMA for providing a safe space for young women at the conference. With further thought, it’s exhausting to constantly prove we deserve to be in the same position as a man. 

New York Times Sports Reporter Jenny Vrentas gave our team at The Chanticleer a personal tour of the newsroom, located along Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. It was truly an unforgettable experience as we walked past each reporter’s cubicle and meeting rooms where active interviews were taking place. 

Vrentas, a woman who has clearly proven herself as a journalist, shared with us that she still faces some challenges in the sports field. She researches her topics and subjects carefully to prepare so that she is as respected and knowledgeable as a male sports reporter is assumed to be. 

Our executive board is made up of five women and a gender-neutral individual– it is crucial for student publications to have female leadership to set examples for generations to come. We must set the example of what newsrooms can look like post-graduation. 

We write editorials because it is our right as students to use our voices. We run this publication to amplify our voices as a woman-dominated newsroom. We produce The Chanticleer to manifest the power each student has on this campus. 

A woman’s purpose is what you believe you’re here to do– not because it’s someone else’s dream or just because it’s easy.