It’s a word that usually means diddly squat to a freshman, but has the potential to drive fear into the hearts of juniors and seniors.

No, I’m not talking about graduation, but good guess. Professionalism.

It’s a frightening word to face as we sit in class, dressed in a comfortably worn sweatshirt and jeans, or a cozy flannel shirt with the button missing on the sleeve.

Most of us carry our things in backpacks instead of briefcases and take notes with free pens we picked up at Welcomefest or some other big give-away event.

Some people don’t even have qualms about showing up late to class, unshowered, with their hair uncombed or tucked into a hat.

In the student world it’s so much easier to be a slob than in the professional one.

Even though dressing for success is important, professionalism is more than just looking the part. You can be wearing your best (and sometimes your only) dynamite interview suit and still appear unprofessional to a prospective employer by your mannerisms, actions or language.

Even people who are labeled as professionals can act very “unpro” in certain situations. For instance, we all learn as young children in kindergarten to play nicely with others.

Yet Mike Tyson, a fully grown man (well, physically at least) was a prime example of unprofessionalism when he decided to gnaw off a little chunk of his opponent’s ear. Acting like a professional sometimes just means following the basics. Mike needs to go back to square one.

Lately, a fellow Daily columnist who joins me in print every Tuesday, has bemoaned the fact that his weekly article was pulled because it was deemed “unprofessional.”

The unpublished column was written in response to a young woman who had written a letter to the editor, asking if he had been raised by a pack of wolves.

A reasonable question.

This writer clings to the First Amendment for help in defending his right to have his thoughts published, questioning the line between professionalism and what is legal.

The two are entirely separate issues in this case. It is, as he states, simply a matter of taste.

Acting professional is a lot like being honest. It’s pretty much up to you. No one is going to stand over you every minute of every day, demanding you to tell your professor the real reason you didn’t get your lab report finished on time or why you were late for work.

The same goes for professionalism. No one is going to sit beside you at the computer and say, “You know what? It isn’t professional to tell your readers to stick a daisy in their ass in public, or screw upon the footsteps of Jack Trice.”

I guess editors assume that at this point of one’s writing career, one should know what is acceptable and what isn’t.

I’m not saying that every phrase that flows from my keyboard to the screen is worthy of a spot in my portfolio either, but I can’t help wondering if this writer expects potential employers to take his work seriously.

Would the editors at the Des Moines Register be impressed by his amazing anecdotes on drinking beer, having sex and watching football? He says that while he offends plenty of readers, he also makes some people laugh.

I’d guess that chuckle would belong to those who are looking through his portfolio.

The Daily is a student publication. The writers are students. The columnists are students. The editors are students. We are professionals in training, one might say.

Now is the time to figure out what is considered professional and worthy of being printed. That process takes longer for some than others.

A good test of whether something is professional is to ask this question: Would you feel comfortable showing this piece of writing to a boss or higher up?

If the answer is no, perhaps you should rethink submitting it for publication.

Is it unprofessional for me to publicly criticize a co-worker’s writing style? Probably. But then, I’m still working on getting my hair combed in the morning.

My professional life will begin soon enough; I’m enjoying an unprofessional lifestyle while I still can.

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Joanne Roepke is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Aurora.