Part of being in college is learning that your perceptions might be wrong. We're not talking about some specific ideas all of us might share - we mean perspectives on everything.
As graduation nears, how many seniors have changed majors after taking a 100-level class they weren't even looking forward to - or maybe after one they were looking forward to didn't end up being all that they thought it would?
How many times have we all had our perceptions about a person proved totally wrong when we took the time to get to know them, from the seemingly uninterested frat boy or sorority girl in a political science class to the seemingly snobby, hipster-looking people at a party?
At The State Press, breaking down the barriers between perception and reality is a part of journalism we take very seriously - and we love it. That's why we spend hours and hours interviewing people and following them around.
It's why we spend even more time writing and editing profiles on those people - people everyone might not otherwise get a chance to talk to.
And on that note, we're proud to present Matthew Stone's 3-part series this week on playing politics. He looks at the political ball game from three very different points-of-view: that of the beginners, that of the losers and that of one politician who made it big.
It's hard to think about an occupation with more baggage attached to it than that of a politician. Regardless of how high up the office, it's hard for politicians to escape the biting stereotypes and countless jokes about their profession.
The press holds politicians to a different standard, and rightfully so. The people who have a hand in how the country is run deserve to be constantly questioned, poked and prodded to make sure they are held accountable for their decisions.
For once, though, it's nice to actually be able to present the more mechanical aspects of being in politics.
One ASU professor notes in the series that you can't really understand politics until you dive into them.
While that may be true, we'd like to think that giving people a peek inside the offices of their representatives might give them insight to what they're actually voting for in those fateful November elections.
