Like many components of a newspaper, this editorial looks different online than it does in print. In print it’s all about how our website was shut down, an occurrence which turned out to stem from a bad case of “bots.” Our infestation is now cured, I think.
I was in distress over the website when I wrote my print editorial, but I knew I had to finish the newspaper, or else it wouldn’t come out the next day. The funny part is that though I did get it done, it still didn’t come out.
On every Monday that’s seen a Voice release this semester, I’ve sat at lunch with my friend Eleanor, the maker of our new crossword and my favorite person at Conn. On every instance when the paper hasn’t arrived by lunchtime, I’ve convinced myself out loud that it’s not coming, that it never will. And every time, Eleanor has assured me that I’m being ridiculous, that of course it will come.
So this week, with the last release, I’d like to say I told you so.
The reason the paper didn’t come this week is simple: The Day, New London’s local newspaper and printing provider for The College Voice, had just switched presses, and the first round of papers the new machine churned out didn’t meet The Day’s standards. They threw them away, which was probably in our best interest, and printed a better set for us on Tuesday. So the papers did come out, just not on Monday, May 1, the date stamped at the top of every page.
This is all anecdotal evidence of a simple reality: at times, running this paper has been a ridiculous experience. I showed up reeling from a semester abroad and nervous that a new staff wouldn’t accept me, and sometimes, things didn’t go as planned. This taught me how to suppress some of my most controlling, most overbearing, most planniest instincts. I like to plan. In my mind, any deviation from my original course indicates failure, but I’m figuring out that that doesn’t have to be true.
I’d like to thank all the staff members who stuck with me while I got my balance (and learned how to lose it). Thank you for pitching, for editing, for volunteering and for money-managing. Thank you for not complaining (to my face) when I’ve sent five staff emails in a single day. Without you, I would just have a blog.
Beyond the people who run it, I love The College Voice in lots of ways, but the big one is that it gives me a space and a reason to write. I appreciate all that the Voice has taught me about issues from institutional politics to club sports to the ecology of the Thames River, but for me, it’s really about stringing the words together. For that reason, I’m actually glad to have encountered these last two absurd hurdles, the web and print debacles. They gave me an extra excuse to write. I’ll be looking for more next year.
-Maia
