It hurt to read Emily Schoenberger’s column, The Odyssey dilutes journalism, on Monday.

Yes, she’s not wrong — we cringe every time we see articles like “Why I’m Voting for Trump” or “Why I’m Not a Feminist” as much as you do.

For every piece of fluff, however, there are three pieces of thoughtful work. Just look at our own examples: we write columns about never having been to a football game despite being a cheerleader, pieces about the love we have for our siblings, and funny articles about the troubles of being a cashier.

As you can see, these pieces are more thought out than a Facebook rant. We may not all be writers — some of us are science majors looking for a creative outlet — but we have the chops. We wouldn’t be on this team otherwise.

We all write mindless articles every once in a while to take a break from the constant seriousness in our heads. Sometimes, getting the silliness out is helpful in writing serious articles like the problems with beauty pageants or news you won’t hear from traditional media outlets. We’re writers, just like you, Emily. Don’t dismiss us just because we write for Odyssey.

We’re not here for the money or the shares. We’re here for the joy of writing, for having a creative outlet where we can write whatever we want — as serious or as “flippant” as we please — and for the ability to connect with an audience of thousands upon thousands of Content Creators across the nation.

And being a part of this organization hasn’t hurt our resumes; in fact, many of our writers have gotten offers for internships and other writing opportunities from their work with the Odyssey alone. Real journalism outlets take our silly listicles seriously, since we’ve mastered the art of using our voices to engage an audience.

So don’t hate Odyssey writers, and don’t hate Odyssey — hate the clickbait culture that puts importance on likes rather than quality content.

Best,

The Pitt Odyssey Team