I’ve learned so much this year being a part of The College Voice staff. My peers have been the some of the best teachers I have had a Conn, which says a lot considering the caliber of our faculty in general. I want to say thank you to Ayla and Dana for always being an inspiration, particularly in the face of immense opposition, and an immense thank you goes to my co-editor Aparna for teaching me so much about being passionate about injustice and thinking radically.
While I have learned a lot about writing and how to make a cogent, concise argument, and also how to make other people sound smarter through the art of editing, mostly what I have learned being on staff is about human nature more broadly. I have learned to be a more empathetic human being, and I have learned how to have strong opinions but never at the expense of learning from others. And most importantly, I have learned that most people, for one reason or another, lack these basic skills of empathy and compassion that characterize the human experience.
One question that I have consistently asked myself throughout my year as the Opinions co-editor has been: have we forgotten how to put oneself in the other person’s shoes? It seems that people are more apt to be reactionary than empathetic or understanding.This is not to say that I blame them for this, but the fact of the matter is that it seems that it is deeply ingrained in our culture to be on the defensive than attempting to learn from one another. I wonder if this is a failure of our institution as a whole, or whether this is a failure of American culture.
Regardless of who or what is at fault, I have come to learn that what I am doing, what we are doing as a student-run newspaper, is attempting to foster a dialogue or empathy between two kinds of opposing viewpoints. I feel confident that this newspaper is on the right track and is no longer afraid to shake things up. I am proud of the legacy that I am leaving behind and hope that it will continue to empower student voices and foster change. I am also incredibly proud of all of the strong individuals on this staff who have taught me what it means to be a more empathetic human being.
— Dakota Peschel, Opinions Editor
