This past week, I talked to Amanda Mei, one of the great Odyssey writers at Yale. However, the Odyssey barely came up. Instead, we talked about this crazy little beast on campus, The Yale Daily News.

1. How did you get involved with the Yale Daily News?

I first got involved with the Yale Daily News after signing up for several panlists at the extracurricular bazaar the beginning of last year. I had had no previous experience with newspapers or journalism; the closest I had come to any kind of publication work was copy editing the fashion magazine at my high school and occasionally submitting pieces to the literary magazine. However, I knew I had an interest in writing -- I enjoy reflecting on my experience and learning about different topics through the process -- and the summer before freshman year, I decided I would try getting involved with the YDN. I started out by taking a general assignment for the Science & Technology of the paper that comes out on Tuesdays. I wrote about the correlation between dentist prevalence and obesity rates, and speaking to the researchers by phone was the first time I ever conducted an interview. I went in with more detailed background research and questions prepared than I did for any of my later stories. I ended up writing about once every week my first semester, mainly for Sci-Tech, several times about the developing Ebola story. But I also began working for the Production & Design desk of the YDN, the desk in charge of laying out the pages of the newspaper as well as designing graphics to represent information from articles. As a P&D trainee, I went in twice a week for two hour shifts. P&D was a lot of fun for me; I had the chance to meet people and work with friends directly at the building, while also learning to use InDesign. At the end of the semester, when I had to decide which desk to "heel" (become a staff member of), I chose P&D because I enjoyed it more and because I began to doubt my motivation to continue interviewing sources and cranking out articles within hours. I'm a writer, not a reporter; there's a difference between crafting a piece and strictly presenting reportage. Now, I am a P&D Editor.

2. What is a typical day like at the YDN?

A typical day at the YDN involves laying out pages of the newspaper by dragging the appropriate articles onto each page, putting in photos and captions, and other small tasks. As an editor I'm also in charge of delegating work to the staff members and trainees who come in for shifts. P&D works closely with Managing Editors, who have a hand on every article that comes in each evening, desk editors, who edit every article with their reporters, as well as photo and illustrations editors who give us visual content. The five other P&D editors and I are in constant communication about scheduling our time in the building, making sure our paper runs error-free, and generally streamlining the process of working with other desks.

3. What is your favorite part of journalism?

Although I'm not a reporter or "journalist," really, I have tremendous respect for people intrepid enough to obtain information from sources that can change people's opinions and prod them into action. I just don't think I am fiery enough to persist in that way. I think it's important to follow the news and place myself in the context of what's going on around me, but most of my concerns are less concrete and more philosophical.

6. What is your favorite thing to write about?

My favorite topic to write about really depends ... My writing really flows when I have an experience that really moves me emotionally or intellectually, but those events are rare and diverse. So usually I end up writing from a place of detachment, which consists more of observation than of argument-making or analysis.

7. Why do you work for both the YDN and Odyssey?

I write for the Odyssey because it gives me the opportunity to write anything I choose while forcing me to stick to a weekly deadline and publicize my work over social media. Those two obligations keep me from being too lazy and challenge me to think about how I present myself. I haven't written for the YDN in a while but will probably submit Opinion columns if I have more time and a real motivation to spread a message.

Amanda Mei is a sophomore in Berkeley College