At the start of my freshman year, I attended the Daily general interest meeting. While looking at the — somewhat intimidating — upperclassmen leaders of the paper at the front of the room, I wondered: Why on earth would anyone in their right mind want to run a daily college newspaper? I had a busy enough time at my high school newspaper, which only put out an issue every two weeks.
No thank you, I told myself. I was going to write a few articles, add a line to my resume and get out long before I was in danger of taking on a leadership position that was going to consume most of my time on the Hill.
My plan of avoiding a long−term commitment with the Daily clearly didn't work out so well. But I couldn't be happier that things worked out the way they did.
All of us on the Daily have our own reasons for choosing to toil away in the basement of Curtis Hall and miss out on events, interesting evening classes, free time and sleep. Some join the Daily to see their names and work in a printed publication — it's still a magical feeling, even in this digital age. Others join, and stay, due to the great sense of community we have. Aside from those working in our — absolutely fantastic — Business Department, none of us are paid anything except for the satisfaction of seeing someone read the Daily while waiting for the Joey or noting the person ahead of you in a lecture looking at our ever−growing online offerings on their laptop.
With the arrival of a new university president, we knew there was going to be plenty to cover this semester, and now that issue number 61 is a wrap, I can safely say we had no idea what topics we would cover and what our experiences would be. When those of us leading the paper started counting down the issues a few weeks ago, we were conflicted: We were looking forward to having some free time but dreaded the Daily−size hole that would soon be in our lives as we handed our jobs over to our successors.
While we hold ourselves to a high standard — when making a decision, we often ask ourselves "What would The New York Times do?" — we know we're not perfect, and we're constantly learning as we navigate the murky waters of student media. We thank you for picking up the Daily every morning, checking out our website, writing in to provide compliments or constructive criticism and maybe even reading something besides the comics page.
It's because of our readers that, according to the Princeton Review, the Daily is one of the top 20 college newspapers in the United States. Say what you will about how the organization conducts its rankings, but we're happy to have this particular feather in our cap. So, to all of our readers on the Hill, thank you.
And if you weren't on the Hill this semester, be you an alumnus, a Jumbo studying abroad, a Tufts parent or a resident in one of our surrounding communities, I hope the Daily brought the Hill closer to you.
This is the part where I would wish you a safe NQR, but it looks like I'll just have to say thanks for reading, good luck with exams and have a relaxing break! The Daily will be back in January.
Sincerely,
Carter Rogers, Editor−in−Chief
