Dear Tufts community members and Tufts Daily staff,
I’m writing to you today to mark the conclusion of another semester at Tufts — and of my term as editor in chief of this newspaper. I’d like to use this opportunity to reflect on some of the paper’s accomplishments this fall and to recognize our staff members for their hard work.
I’m pleased to report that this has been a semester of growth for the Daily. We welcomed over 80 new staff members, launched an ambitious fundraising campaign and began the transition to a new, modernized and more secure website (stay tuned). Our Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee co-chairs created affinity groups for students from across the university whose identities are underrepresented in journalism and media. We published our first Diversity and Inclusion Report, the result of over a year of work by many, many staff members. For the first time, our executive board participated in workshops with Counseling and Mental Health Service and Action for Sexual Assault Prevention and signed a staff code of conduct. We piloted a Reporting Mini-Grant Program and disbursed stipends for staff members, small but meaningful steps towards improving the Daily’s financial inclusivity. We expanded our digital presence with a newly established newsletter section and revamped our social media presence. We overhauled our Business Department, redesigned our print newspaper and increased distribution to pre-pandemic levels — all while publishing relevant and important stories for and about our community, five days a week.
The credit for each of these successes belongs to our committed and wildly talented staff. Thank you to every member of the Daily who wrote, created or edited something this semester — it was truly a pleasure to publish your work.
I also want to thank every member of our executive board and our committee chairs — Emily, Mark, Jack, Reya, Alex, Keila, Ethan, Flora, Aaron, Natalie, Ian, Julia, Maddy, Mike, Avril, Camilla, Rachel, Chris, Liz, Caroline, Evelyn, Kendall, Kate, Maddie, Mariel, Avery and Odessa. Thank you for all of the time, energy and care you gave to the Daily this semester. You are the lifeblood of this newspaper. You have my endless gratitude and admiration.
Most of all, thank you to my managing board. Working alongside the six of you this semester has been an absolute pleasure and honor. You made the Daily better, and you made me a better journalist, leader and person. I love you all very much.
Delaney, thank you for prioritizing quality over expediency and for giving every article you touched your full attention. Your careful, deliberate work propelled us forward on our most sluggish production nights. Thank you most of all for validating and supporting me when I needed it this semester. I learned so much watching you lead with humility and kindness.
Ty, thank you for always being two steps ahead of everyone else and for giving every task, big or small, your full consideration and care. Thank you for writing down five-point plans on napkins, building more than one website and dedicating hours upon hours of your life to the Diversity Report. I don’t know how you did it all or what we would have done without you.
Abi, thank you for your tireless work on projects that the rest of us too often took for granted — whether it be placing our weekly Opa order, drafting an impeccable meeting recap or keeping the staff up to date with your weekly newsletter. Your presence in the office — and the sunny yellow apparel, sour candies and positivity you brought with you — made it a more joyful place.
Charlene, thank you for your masterful leadership of the Production Department this semester and for bringing so much grace and creativity to every project you took on. From redesigning the print paper to personally mentoring layout editors, you gave so much of yourself to the Daily this semester, and we are all better for it.
Sam, thank you for turning the Business Department around 180 degrees and for tolerating this bunch of nerds. It’s because of you that the Daily is financially stable and continuing to thrive. I’m so glad you’re continuing into the spring — the business team will be in capable hands.
Julia, thank you for filling the office with energy and positivity on even the most challenging nights. Working alongside you this fall has been a masterclass in thoughtfulness, emotional maturity, tenacity and level-headedness. For better or worse, I’ll never forget your wild stories … or your foray into witchcraft. In all seriousness, my hope for you next semester is that you trust yourself and lean on your team — you’re going to be an incredible EIC.
Finally, on behalf of the entire Daily staff, thank you to the alumni, friends, family and readers who make our work possible. Thank you to the Tufts community for holding us accountable and for trusting us to tell your stories. We couldn’t do any of this without you.
Pax et Lux,
Chloe Courtney Bohl
Editor in Chief, Fall 2022
