This week’s campus celeb is Eder Campuzano, a 26-year-old UO senior and Managing Editor at the Daily Emerald, Eugene’s student-ran daily newspaper. He was born in Mexico, but moved to McMinnville, Oregon when he was only two years old. From there, he moved to Eugene to attend Lane Community College and soon became the Editor in Chief of The Torch, LCC’s award-winning weekly newspaper.
In 2011, he came to the UO as a journalism major, and started working for Flux, as the Copy Chief, and later as the Managing Editor of Digital Publishing. In March, his former colleague at The Torch, now the editor of the Emerald, approached him and asked him to apply as a print managing editor because they were having some issues with printing. Eder gladly took the job. He said he’s wanted to work for the Emerald since he toured the university in high school. “Not to sound cheesy, but it was sort of a dream come true,” Eder says.
Today, one of Eder’s main responsibilities is making sure the printing process runs smoothly. Printing deadlines that used to be two hours late are now usually two hours early. He said the most important aspect of that process is checking in with editors regularly to ensure they have everything they need to produce quality work on time.
When asked what he loved most about working at the Emerald, Eder didn’t know where to begin. “I have yet to come into the newsroom with anything less than a smile on my face,” says Eder. “I’ve never worked with a group of more hard-working, ambitious, and overall great people,” he says, in an attempt to sum up everything he loves about the Emerald. In his experience with high school and community college publications, he said there were usually a few people who were as dedicated as he was, but for most, the publication was not their first priority. “Here at the Emerald, everyone is fully committed. They’re doing everything they can to improve themselves and prepare for the bigger jobs after college. That level of professionalism and dedication is important to me.”
Sitting in the otherwise empty Emerald conference room on the top floor of the EMU, I asked Eder about his favorite thing about the University of Oregon . The windows were cracked, filling the room with warm sunshine and the upbeat sounds of the live band playing nearby in the EMU amphitheater. “This. Right now,” he replied. “The sky is blue, the leaves are changing, the students on campus are doing what they do best; this is my favorite part about being here.”
In his free time, Eder does a lot of the same things he does when he’s in the newsroom on campus. “I read, a lot. Everything I can get my hands on. I have a voracious appetite for news and information. Also, I play video games. I don’t think there will be a time in my life where I don’t spend at least two hours a week trying to beat a game. I even helped set up a league on campus for people who share the same dorky interests in video games like Pokémon. It’s great.”
Eder plans to graduate in the spring, and hopes to eventually move to New York to work for one of his role models, Brian Crecente, whom he has been keeping tabs on since he was sixteen. He says his dream job would be working for their video game website and he plans on applying in May. Otherwise, he would absolutely love to be a metro reporter for a major newspaper such as The Oregonian and live in the city.
His advice to younger journalism students is: “Read, read, read. That’s number one. But don’t read crap, don’t take Reddit’s word for anything. Read your local newspaper, read Time Magazine, read stuff of substance. Sure, Buzzfeed is fun, and I myself enjoy looking at funny pictures of cats everyonce in a while, but make time to read the important stuff. Also, write for somebody. Other than that, having goals is important. Find out what you want to dedicate yourself to and do it. The only person holding yourself back is you.”