A bottle of cherry Coke stood on Antonio Sanchez’s new desk after he arrived from a final exam Monday night. He sat intently in front of a computer in the office that he officially earned Sunday. Besides the scraps of paper scattered everywhere and a gray wall clock, the office is still pretty empty.
“I plan to put a photo of Gianna and I here,” he said. “And maybe some vinyl records.”
In his regular shirt-and-shorts outfit, Sanchez, 21, has taken over as the new editor-in-chief of the Daily Lobo, and will captain the newspaper’s ship until he graduates next spring.
Sanchez, a junior, has worked for the Lobo since his first semester at UNM and said he has mixed emotions about his new job.
“Naturally, I’m excited for this job, but I’m a little nervous,” he said. “But I believe that if you weren’t a little nervous, I don’t think this job is right for you. You should approach this job with some sort of precaution.”
Sanchez said he has been working for the Lobo since fall 2010. He said he served as a freelance reporter for the culture desk until the summer of 2012, when he became the assistant culture editor. He said he has written for all sections of the Lobo except for the opinion section.
As part of being a versatile journalist, Sanchez said he has a knack for strange subjects.
“In the fall, I covered a weirdly elusive group of students who would dress up as Jedi and they would fight with lightsabers,” he said. “As I got more ingrained in the story, I found that the leader of the group met his future wife … because they both liked Star Wars. I thought that was just amazing.”
Sanchez said in the future, he plans to put out more hard-hitting investigative stories in the paper. He also said he plans to focus on tighter communication with other University bodies, such as the communication and journalism department, ASUNM and GPSA, during his term.
“We provide a voice for students here, as well as for faculty,” he said. “And if we don’t provide clear communication with them, what does that say about our voice?”
Sanchez said that although he didn’t expect that he would get the position, he is confident about his leadership for the coming year.
“I was surprised,” he said. “It was a close race, and each of the other candidates who ran was just as qualified as I am. I wouldn’t have run if I didn’t think I could do this job.”
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