Tonight was my first official night off the job, as in The Collegian staff met for the weekly Sunday meeting and I wasn't there. I've still got a few lingering jobs left over, to write some new bylaws, get some contracts I've been trying to get approved for months approved, and continue to help with circulation, but otherwise, I'm done.
All year I kept thinking, I just have to make it to March, and now March is here and I wish it was September again. I definitely had a love hate relationship with my job as editor-in-chief, but I wouldn't have given it up for anything.
I knew when I weighed the decision last spring whether to become editor or not that the year was going to be a long one. I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping much, I’d be stressed, and I would struggle to keep my perfectionist tendencies under check. I didn’t expect to have as much fun as I did, learn as much from my intelligent and creative staff members as I did, or be as proud as I am.
This past year has not been the easiest, but it has been full of variety. My staff covered everything from a hurricane, an earthquake, and Obama’s visit during the first few weeks of school, to Jepson’s choice to elect another controversial leader-in-residence and the shots fired by campus police just before Winter Break.
We reported on head football coach Latrell Scott’s resignation after a second DUI, the change to the lodge attendance policy, and the arrest just a few weeks ago of offensive lineman Jimmy Speros. We introduced you to the new dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Kathleen Skerrett, remembered the victims of 9/11 in a special section dedicated to the tenth anniversary, and reported on the recent mourning of alumnus Michael Ice.
Our aim as a paper is to provide a forum for free expression, to inform the campus community about issues that concern this community, and to teach our staffers what it means to be journalists, deadlines and all.
If there’s one thing I can say about this year is that I believe we met those goals.
I can’t thank my wonderful staffers enough for how much time they put into their jobs, their incredible teamwork, and talent. They were all willing to learn, be taught, and to teach in turn. They taught me to delegate better than anyone else has.
As editor I stressed about the little things that could go wrong and sometimes did, and worked hard to correct mistakes before we published anything. But this job taught me as no other job has before, that mistakes happen, and that there’s always next week.
While there were times when we encountered disgruntled readers, sources and former writers, I was proud of how each staffer handled themselves and their professionalism.
I’m also proud of what we were able to accomplish as staff. We met all our print deadlines, even if it meant leaving the office at 5 a.m. We reworked our management and deadline policies to try to bring you coverage in a timelier manner and worked to ensure that coverage included videos, slideshows, and stories. We also tried to streamline our paper design to make it more reader friendly.
While I didn’t necessarily meet every goal I had for the paper, I met my most important one: to have fun. While in some ways I know we all dreaded Wednesday nights, I ended up looking forward to them. I loved getting to know the people who bring you your news, features, opinions, and sports each week and I hope you enjoyed getting to read what they produced.
When asked recently if I would do anything differently, I answered no: that’s my greatest accomplishment.
Thank you to our loyal readers, our supporters, our critics, our diligent journalism advisers, and the dedicated assistance of those in the Controller’s Office. I must also mention my patient friends who waited up for me into the wee hours of the morning. You all made this year worthwhile.
And now without further ado, I turn this paper over to the entirely capable hands of Maria Rajtik and her new staff. I wish you all the best of luck. Not that you need it.
