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Junior reporter to leave school early

Like most students are this time of year, I'm burned out.

I can't take it. No matter how hard I try in my History 431 class, I still can't get above a C-minus. I'm almost finished with my major - journalism - and I'm done with my minor - history - and I've completed all my general education requirements.

Being a junior and having worked at the Arizona Daily Wildcat for three years now, there really isn't much more I can accomplish. I've covered men's and women's basketball, volleyball, swimming and diving and I had a one-semester stint as assistant sports editor.

So, after weeks of careful consideration, I've come to the decision that I will forego my senior year, get my family out of Detroit and jump right into the professional world of sports journalism.

Why not? I see all these college basketball players doing it every day.

There's Connecticut's Khalid El-Amin, St. John's Erick Barkley and Iowa State's Marcus Fizer, to name a few.

Plus, what business do Life University's Jimmie Hunter, DerMarr Johnson, Keyon Dooling, Mark Karcher, Paul McPherson, and Mike Miller have leaving school early for the NBA?

These "kids," most of them younger than I am with half my experience, will sign fat contracts and drop off the face of the Earth, being financially secure for the rest of their lives.

So, I took a cue from them and weighed my options. For all the fun and education college provides, it isn't exactly putting a lot of money in my pocket. I have all the necessary tools and a grip of experience under my belt, so there's not much point in me coming back next year to lead the Wildcat to another Pacemaker Award, given annually to the nation's top college newspaper, in 2000-01 because we've won that already.

Besides, we have a talented core of young journalists down in Student Union Room Four - the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena of newsrooms. Judging by this year's seniors who are applying to work at the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and New York Times, among others, this is my perfect opportunity.

I'm a lottery pick this year, where next year I may make some more mistakes, have some bad articles and see my draft stock slip, like what happened to Miles Simon.

It's been a blast and I hope you all enjoy what myself and many others do to bring you the newspaper everyday. But with poor facilities (aside from the new I-Mac's), poor pay and super-agent Leigh Steinberg promising me Akili Smith-like money, it's just too tempting to turn down the high life.

With what the Wildcat provides me, the closest I've come to the high life has been drinking one from Miller's, and considering someone from Life University can leave school early, I figure I can, too.

And there isn't any amount of pay, word-count or stupid "Stuff I Hate" jokes that could change my mind.