As I prepare to graduate, I am looking more and more at what I have done in the last four years, and I am left to wonder if I am leaving my school a better place. I hope that I am.
The thing I am most proud of doing in my last four years is being a part of The Weekly. Since I was a first-year, I have had the unique opportunity of having conversations with amazing people, from the President of the College to the newest first-year. I have also had the opportunity to follow some of the biggest challenges facing Gustavus and to share what I find with the community.
Many people have predicted the death of the newspaper industry. I find this hard to believe. Yes, the industry will change, but it is still an incredibly important part of our society. Newspapers serve as our country’s critic, raising issues and forcing us to confront our problems honestly. The Gustavian Weekly does this for the Gustavus community.
The Weekly, as a campus newspaper, is invaluable. It provides an open forum for the community to discuss issues facing us as a community or as individuals. It provides an outlet for the amazing journalism of our students. And The Weekly provides the criticism of the community that helps make Gustavus a better place to live and learn.
When I look back at my time at Gustavus, I don’t regret the things I have done, but rather the things I have left undone. There are many things that—due to time, resources or ability—that The Weekly has not been able to cover.
Many things come to mind, such as the problems posed by drugs at Gustavus or the fact that hazing continues—and not necessarily in the Greek community.
I hope that those who follow me tackle these issues and more. It is impossible to know what will be covered in future years, but I hope that The Weekly’s student journalists never shy away from covering difficult issues. I hope that they never allow themselves to be driven away from covering a topic because of pressure from anyone. I hope that they always uphold the integrity called for in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics. And I hope that they receive support from the Gustavus community.
In my final act as Editor-in-Chief, I want to do something to protect the future of journalism at Gustavus: I am asking the College to adopt a new policy against publication theft. The policy, which is aimed at protecting publications distributed without fee to the campus, is from the Student Press Law Center, an organization that provides legal aid to student journalists.
I am asking the College to include the following language in the Gustie Guide: “Publication theft. A person commits the offense of publication theft when he or she willfully or knowingly obtains or exerts unauthorized control over more than three copies of an edition of a publication distributed on campus with the intent to prevent other individuals from reading that edition of the publication.
A ‘publication’ includes any periodical that is distributed on a complimentary or compensatory basis. In addition to the imposition of other campus disciplinary penalties, a person who violates this provision is responsible for compensating the publication for all reasonable costs incurred, including, where appropriate, the refund of advertising fees.”
Finally, I want to recognize everyone who has helped The Gustavian Weekly and me in the last year. I want to thank my wonderful staff, who have worked incredibly hard under sometimes difficult circumstances to produce the best newspapers ever at Gustavus. I want to thank my fellow senior staff members—Alex Messenger, Lynn Olson, Matt Beachey and Steve Palmer—for dedicating so much of their senior year to the paper. I also want to thank my Managing Editor, Becky Krocak, for keeping me sane and the newspaper running smoothly. On a personal note, I want to thank my girlfriend Amy, who has put up with long Wednesday nights and my occasional strangeness.
Lastly, congratulations to Lindsay Lelivelt, who will take over as Editor-in-Chief next year. Good luck to her and everyone on staff next year!