Dear Class of 2022, family and friends,
We now reach the pinnacle of achievement, the most sacred ceremony in the American education system: commencement. To get to this moment, we have endured quite the semester, and, for our graduating class, quite the collegiate experience.
In your hands right now — or more likely on your screen — is our greatest accomplishment of the semester. The 2022 Tufts Daily Commencement Issue holds 56 pages of our very best reporting, writing, photography, filmography, audio mixing, graphic design, layout and creativity. Over the last three weeks, we have dedicated our lives to putting together our paper’s annual flagship issue. It is a culmination of everything we have worked so hard to achieve. I know very few of us read a newspaper cover-to-cover like a book nowadays, but if there’s any of our work that deserves to be fully read, I promise it’s this.
This semester, as a publication, we have written, edited, fact-checked, edited again and laid out over half a million words in 52 separate issues. We have taken hundreds of photographs, illustrated nearly as many graphics and filmed several original videos.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which banished us all from campus over two years ago, has left many student organizations reeling and redefining what it means to create community here at Tufts. For us in particular, we were forced to learn how to produce and print a product that no one was on campus to pick up. We took it as an opportunity to truly broaden and bolster our online presence.
With an increased emphasis on our multimedia sections, we have begun to transform our product from one that — since 1980 — was a print publication that also posts online to an online publication that also prints. While this transformation remains ongoing, the steps we have taken to bring our publication into the latest era of journalism have been incredible.
Along the lines of modernization, I want to share some truly exciting news with you all. I’m super psyched to announce that come next semester, the Daily is going to have a fresh online presence with a completely revamped website! The new site should allow us to present our work in the most visually appealing way possible and open the door to more interactive and modern journalism.
I’d like to thank everyone who helped us as an organization get to this point. To our staff, the writers, editors, photographers, artists, videographers and producers, thank you for giving us the words, images, film and audio that have made it possible for this paper to exist.
To my tireless executive board, thank you for sticking with me through thick and thin, for making the difficult decisions, for putting in countless hours and for dedicating your semester to making The Tufts Daily the best it could possibly be.
To my nightly office squad — the layout and copy teams — you were what made the newsroom such a fun place to work, transforming the basement of Curtis Hall from an otherwise lifeless dungeon into an expressive, vibrant and welcoming space. For that, thank you.
As I reach the end of my tenure as your editor in chief, I also want to take some time to express gratitude to those individuals who have supported me ever so eagerly during my time here at the Daily.
To my incredible managing board — Peri, Sam, Phoebe, Mac, Elizabeth, Kendall and Campbell — you were the best co-leaders, the best friends and the best support system out there. Thank you for spending your semester committed to improving the way the Daily works.
To my superstar predecessors upon whom I have relied heavily for advice this semester: Maddie, Megan and Jess, thank you for teaching me how to lead a student newspaper day in and day out. Your advice may have seemed small at the time, but the effect it had on both me and the paper is immeasurable.
Robert, I could not have asked for a better friend or mentor. You helped me ask and answer the big picture questions surrounding the Daily’s role on this campus and the not insignificant politics of running a student organization. You were my sounding board, my go-to guy. Selfishly, I wish you would never leave; I’m going to miss you so much, but I’m incredibly excited to see you walk today.
To the Class of 2022 — my graduating friends and peers — congratulations! Revel in this moment culminating all you have accomplished. Celebrate your achievement. I can’t wait to see what comes next; the best is yet to come!
With great admiration and gratitude,
Alex
Editor in Chief, Spring 2022
