Some people can be so hard to talk to. I never really realized how true this is until I became a staff writer for the Iowa State Daily two and a half years ago.

My Daily colleagues and I have discussed the drawbacks to being a part of a college newspaper staff various times.

It has amazed me how ignorant or speechless some people can be about a simple request: “Can I ask you a few questions about…?”

Usually the answer is “yes.” However, there are always people who can’t answer this simple question. They make it harder than it really is.

Sometimes people will decline to do an interview simply because they don’t know enough about the topic being asked about or want their thoughts to remain confidential for security reasons. This is fine.

But if that is the case, it would be preferable if the person refer the reporter to the right source.

Generally speaking, reporters get the right sources. But it’s frustrating when the source has no comment, especially if he or she is supposedly the expert on the topic or doesn’t give enough information.

Sometimes, though, it is for a good reason. For example, when the Ames Police Department caught an individual last year for parking meter fraud, it wouldn’t comment on how the crime was pursued. The police had a significant reason for keeping the information confidential.

But if the question is something as mundane as “What do you think about Iowa State? Your major? Veishea?” it is simply dumb to say “no comment.”

Even though someone’s “no comment” doesn’t appear in the paper, it makes that individual look and sound like an idiot to the reporter.

This brings me to another point. Whenever a Daily reporter or any media reporter approaches you personally, introduces him or herself as a member of a news organization and asks your opinion on something, assume you are going to be quoted.

I’ve always thought this was common sense, or else the reporter wouldn’t be questioning you in the first place.

Unless you request a comment remain off the record, you don’t finish an interview and ask the reporter, “Are you going to quote me on this?” or, “This isn’t going to be in the Daily, is it?”

The Iowa State Daily is Iowa State University’s student newspaper. It is your student newspaper.

Use it. Take advantage of it.

If the opportunity arises, don’t hesitate to make a statement in the Daily, if you already haven’t in the police blotter.

However, don’t always leave it up to a Daily reporter to find you. If there’s something you feel strongly about, chances are someone else out there does too.

It doesn’t matter how serious the issue is, whether it be the Catt Hall controversy or about how the Daily uses the words dorm and residence hall interchangeably.

It’s your responsibility to make the Daily hear you. That’s why we love letters to the editor.

Whether you like us or hate us, write a letter. We may laugh at you for it sometimes, but write one anyway.

This is important for the Daily because it has become a better publication due to the feedback from readers.

The Daily is a student-run newspaper. But it isn’t just any student newspaper.

A few years ago, a Daily editor called a university official who never returned his calls for an interview.

That same day, the editor called the official back and introduced himself as a reporter from The Des Moines Register. The official spoke without hesitation.

However unethical this is, it just goes to show how strongly some people will express that students should be denied the right public information because they are students and not professional reporters.

Even though student journalists are learning through the Daily, some of our staffers have had a significant amount of professional exposure, whether it be from the Cedar Rapids Gazette, The Des Moines Register or the Omaha World-Herald.

On a brighter note, though, I’d like to end by thanking those who have been courteous enough to do an interview with a reporter or call back.

It’s made our jobs a lot easier.

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Shuva Rahim is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Davenport.