By Hailey MacDonald, Editor-in-Chief
We’ve made it to week ten! We’re officially two-thirds of the way through the semester. It’s flying by — thankfully. 2021’s October chapter has come to a close as November has begun, and there are only two more to go in this year’s story.
Coming soon to an end is my second term as Editor in Chief of the Westerner. December 1 begins the next Editor’s tenure. I started this position two years ago, in December 2019, as a sophomore with very little leadership experience. The 19-year-old girl who slipped her little feet into those big shoes has turned into an almost-22-year-old Editor in Chief of two separate terms, which is something that doesn’t happen quite often for students-run newspapers.
Throughout the years, I look at all the changes that have come with the newspaper. Not only did we continue to thrive during the peak of COVID by posting online articles onto our website, but we preserved through times with little to no staff writers and content. My executive board and I have had times when we’ve had ten writers, and times when we didn’t have anyone but ourselves. Yet, through it all, Nicole, Allen, and myself never gave up our dedication to this organization.
As an Editor, the biggest part of my job is laying out the newspaper on the weekends. It takes hours and hours, normally around five-ish if I continue on without a break, to do this task on my Sundays — which are normally supposed to be days of rest, recharging, and relaxation. Yet, I have been doing that nearly every weekend for two years to ensure this newspaper’s success. I’ve done that on top of writing articles, filling in open spaces when needed, managing a team of staff writers, coordinating with the publishing house, etcetera etcetera etcetera. I’ve dedicated so much of my time to this publication.
Why?
Because the Westerner needs to be here. Having an outlet for students to share their feelings, their stories, their voices, their concerns, their praise, their frustration, their appreciation, their lives is so important. We, as students, are the only reason this University thrives. We are the ones who give all of the faculty and staff members a reason to be employed here. And therefore, we are the ones who deserve to have a voice on campus and an outlet to share that voice, and the Westerner gives students that ability.
Recently, an anonymous article published on October 19 entitled “Vice President Jarzabski is ‘No Longer With’ the University” was a big success in the newspaper. A handful of students and even a parent shared their feelings with an anonymous staff writer after a long-time, well-respected and appreciated member of the University’s administration was terminated with no explanation to the student body. This article received a lot of positive feedback — many students reached out to the Westerner after its publication to share their appreciation of the story.
That’s what I, and my executive board, are here for.
It’s bittersweet to end my career as the Editor of the Westerner because it has taught me so much, and not just about the world of journalism. I have learned to be a team leader and a dependable editor, and I have had to step outside of my comfort zone to work on certain article topics. I have also had to work with publishers and vendors when the Westerner would help with event planning for cross-media and multi-organizational programming, which is not something I have done often, if at all. I have learned how to give feedback, receive feedback, and grow from feedback. Most of all, though, I have learned to be a better person.
I would like to thank Claire Wright, the newspaper’s staff advisor, for all of her support and dedication over the years to make this newspaper as successful as it has been. Not only has Claire helped pave the way for our success with on-campus connections, but she has never been hesitant to pick up a story that needs to be written or send me any pictures she has from events to be featured in the paper. Not many staff members would even look at a text message from a student at 10:00 p.m. on a Sunday night when she was off, but Claire would never hesitate to give anything she could to help our organization thrive. I would never have been successful in this role without Claire.
Thank you, also, to all of the faculty and staff members who support the Westerner. Thank you for answering emails from staff writers, for reading the newest copy of the paper every week or two, and for all of your feedback and article ideas. Your support has not gone unnoticed and unappreciated. I would especially like to shout out Melissa Lambert, Alyssa Caliguri, Ryan Mahan, Sean Burke, Curt Hamakawa, Robert Chipkin, Doug Battema, Breanda Garton-Sjoberg, and Mariah Linnett for supporting our organization and recognizing us as a crucial part of campus life.
Lastly, I would like to thank all of the staff writers that have written for us. Most of them have graduated by now, but I will always appreciate their dedication to making our newspapers possible.
I have one more newspaper to edit after this one, and then I pass on the reins. As a member of the student body who has dedicated much of my time and energy into this organization on the administrative and behind the scenes side, I hope I have served the rest of the student body well over the years. I hope you have enjoyed the last twenty or thirty or so newspapers, because I worked so, so hard on them. Thank you for allowing me to serve our student body and enrich our institution with something so powerful and meaningful.
Good luck to each one of you on your future endeavors, and thank you so much for your support.
