Radio-television-film majors are the hardest working students at Northwestern.

That is a biased comment that shouldn’t be taken seriously by anyone. But I believe it. As an RTVF major with just minimal experience working on student films, even I know of the nightmares that plague such productions.

The paradox of student filmmaking: What other filmmakers pay ridiculous amounts of money a year, balance intensive classes and social activities, live in invariably inhospitable conditions, and usually don’t have a source of steady income?

Film students in the midst of a production are typically disheveled, comatose and frail, with bloodshot eyes and Coca-Cola-colored veins. Their metabolism disintegrates; they eat constantly, but never retain anything of nutritional value.

Earlier this week, I was lucky enough to view some of this year’s Northwestern Student Television (NSTV) with a few members of the crew. It was a chilling experience. I sat in a dark room, surrounded by funny people, watching very funny stuff — but they weren’t laughing. They are desensitized to their own talent, standing around unshaven, picking at a chicken caesar wrap like starving dogs and dreaming of sunlight, sleep and Slurpees.

They pretended like their work was no big deal. But I could see the terror in their eyes — that unquestionable fear of being an unfunny disappointment lurks behind their friendly fa