Editorial; April 16, 2012

“How’s the Voice going?” I get asked that a lot. If it’s Monday morning, I’ll yawn and boast about how many hours I spent in Cro the previous night finishing layout.  Monday night, I’ll shrug and say, “We’ll get it done. We always do.” Saturday afternoon, I’ll be too busy to answer, balancing columns, editing a story and asking, over and over, “What needs to be done?”

I started writing for the Voice my freshman year; when the editor-in-chief pitched the articles for that week, I was too nervous to volunteer, so I pulled a random editor aside and asked if I could write an article about relationships, something I knew nothing about. That editor was Claire Gould ’10, who became editor-in-chief the following year; she gave me the green light, and a week later, I had a byline, an 800 word article praising the power of open lines of communication and a newfound love for the College Voice.

Now, four years later, this issue is my last.

Our college experience does not end cleanly once our diplomas are in hand; it concludes slowly, in stages, a step at a time. What has defined our time at Conn– extracurricular activities, favorite classes– slowly diminishes amidst countdown dances, purchases of caps and gowns, and apartment hunting. The idea that we leave Conn to enter the “real world” is misleading. The past four years have been real: an examination of what we like, an inquiry in what we are capable of, a constant investigation in what comes next.

Over the past four years, I have grown up in Cro 215, a nurturing, productive, encouraging environment. I didn’t have many specific goals for the Voice when I began: I wanted it to be a palette for exploration, for students– editors, writers, photographers, artists, illustrators– to push themselves creatively and impress themselves with what they can do. As always, I wanted the newspaper to provide a space for students to voice their perspectives and know that their news and opinions (and arts and sports) are important. My first editorial outlined the responsibility of a college newspaper: to question, express and inform. In retrospect, we’ve done so much more than that: we’ve sparked dialogue, introduced facts and brought perspectives from years past.  The Voice reaches more than just the people on campus: it serves, in a way, as a lifeline for graduates and parents, providing an insight into day-to-day campus life. Below, you’ll find a letter to the editor written by David Schonberger ’77 in response to an editorial written last week by David Liakos, Ipek Bakir, Ethan Harfenist and myself. The dialogue never ends.

Within the office, the Voice has been about building relationships. The editors are more than just my staff, but they are my friends; I’m extremely proud of what we have accomplished over the past year, amid funding issues, misplaced shipments and server failure. I cannot thank them enough.

Taking over for me will be Meredith Boyle. I met Meredith when she was a senior in high school and she was my prospective student. I didn’t know what to do with her. We sat silently in my room doing homework for three hours until I brought her to my one extracurricular activity– a Voice meeting. I like to think that bringing her to that meeting sparked her involvement in the Voice, but it is probably her drive, determination, talent and motivation as a writer and an editor. She’ll do a fantastic job.

I’m trying to cram everything I’ve done over the past four years into one editorial, but it’ll never work. I’m thankful that I joined the Voice my freshman year. I’m proud of what has been done so far. I’m excited to see what comes next, in the fall and beyond.

Thank you for reading, now and always.