Photo courtesy of News@Hofstra

“No” is one of the worst words you could hear when asking for something you really want. Being overlooked is one of the worst feelings you could experience when fighting for something you’re really passionate about. Getting told that something is not important enough when you believe it carries tremendous value is one of the worst conflicts you could endure. Well, having all these things happen at once was my unfortunate reality during this year’s Hofstra Votes Live (HVL). 

This year, I served two roles in the Hofstra Votes Live broadcast – national newsroom managing editor and student expert on racial injustice. Since most of my responsibility as managing editor included research prior to election night, my main focus during HVL was as a student expert, speaking on how race-related issues tie into the 2020 election. I had spent a large part of my day preparing and rehearsing for my interview so I could explain the subject matter with complete knowledge and confidence. 

Once HVL started, I was taken back by how frequently the schedule changed throughout the night. Granted, I completely understood that due to the broadcast being live, things would change as updates rolled in. However, I, as well as almost everyone else in the newsroom, was greatly confused as to why the show was operating in that way, especially in regard to the lack of communication between departments. My first experience with this was when my introduction and brief interview on my role as managing editor, scheduled to take place at the beginning of the show, was cut out entirely. I remained hopeful that, even amid the kinks, the show would return back to its “normal programming” and cover all the necessary topics surrounding this year’s election. 

As the night continued, however, my optimism soon turned into pessimism. With less than an hour of the show left, my interview on racial injustice in America, scheduled to air near the halfway mark, kept getting pushed aside time and time again. Even through countless attempts to remind and request the producers for my topic to be properly discussed, I was met with half-hearted apologies left, right and center. With less than 15 minutes of the broadcast left, I was seriously at the brink of giving up.

As I became more vocal about the situation, my fellow newsroom colleagues, who all got the chance to speak, sometimes even twice, began to grow just as frustrated and annoyed as I was. We continued to bond over our frustrations when suddenly it was then announced that the show, which was supposed to end at 12 a.m., was going to be extended by a few minutes to discuss other topics. 

It was at this point that what I had suspected became crystal clear: the real reason they did not want to cover the subject of racial injustice was not due to a time constraint – it was simply because it wasn’t important enough in their eyes. 

With this realization in hand, a newsroom member and I marched over with determination to the executive producers to fight for what we believed was right. As expected, we were first met with pushback. However, we refused to back down. After going back and forth for a short while, I was reluctantly given the interview, and I quickly raced back to the newsroom to get ready for this long-awaited moment.

Though I felt an insane amount of pressure, I mustered up the courage to get the job done. And I’m not going to lie; I did a great job. I was reassured of this by the round of applause and cheers I received from all the members in the newsroom. However, the members of the newsroom were not the only ones who were proud of me. Two of the senior executive producers complimented me later that night, even though one of them originally denied me my interview. They both said that what I did was very commendable and congratulated me for persevering through the countless rejections. I was told that within the business of journalism, there are things you have to fight for and that what I did was a perfect example of that.

So, what did I take away from this? I’ll tell you. I am done being told “no” when asking for something I really want. I am done being overlooked when fighting for something I am really passionate about. I am done getting told that something is not important enough when I believe it carries tremendous value. 

As we’ve witnessed from the countless protests fighting against racial injustice, standing up for what’s right isn’t always easy, but it certainly has the power to make a difference.

Victoria Bell is a junior journalism major with a minor in drama. She serves as an Arts and Entertainment Editor for The Chronicle. You can find her on Twitter @victoriakbell_.