OBSCURITY is a cruel mistress, but that is the fate to which every college newspaper editor is quickly assigned when his or her time has expired. So here we are, consigned to retirement for our last semester at the University with only a few words to summarize an insurmountable legion of fond memories and accumulated wisdom.
Working at this newspaper is something of an eternal battle against self-pity. Praise and congratulations are in short supply measured against the eternal wellspring of criticism we get from any given edition of the paper. So it's no small miracle that the members of the staff continually return to our basement offices to produce the next day's paper. And this is precisely why I have reached the end of my days at The Cavalier Daily without an ounce of regret: because those who do come back are among the most mature, thick-skinned and self-motivated individuals I've had the privilege of meeting.
During the last days of my term I happened to call my predecessor, Justin Bernick, a man whom I admire beyond almost others. In the course of our conversation I mentioned, with all the rose-tint of nostalgia, that I've enjoyed every moment of my time at the paper.
"Don't lie to me," he said.
He was right, of course. There are many moments when an editor thinks fondly of the life he would have led in the alternate universe where he had never joined the paper. Our readership holds us accountable for what we do (and don't) print, and responses from readers frequently sacrifice the virtues of good manners.
And we're grateful for every one of them, for journalists must be accountable for every last word that they publish.
For my part, I have tried never to let a day go by in which I did not carefully ponder the means in which race was treated and discussed in the paper. I had very high hopes for what I could do to make sure the doors of The Cavalier Daily were as wide open as possible to every member of the community, and most certainly to those who have expressed perennial concerns that the paper does not provide adequate coverage of their communities.
Have I succeeded to that end? Yes and no. I devoted a great deal of my time as the editor-in-chief to developing respectful, working relationships with leaders in the minority community, particularly in the African-American community. I owe a great deal of gratitude to those individuals. Foremost in my mind is the infinite patience and energy of Black Student Alliance President Myra Franklin, who I have come to consider both a wonderful colleague and a dear friend.
But there is still a great deal of work to be done in attracting a wide variety of students to the paper, and I know this is a value that the new editor, Patrick Harvey, holds near and dear to his heart. We have done a great deal in the past three years to expand the coverage and outreach of the paper, and I sleep easy knowing the new leadership will continue this mission.
We at The Cavalier Daily are talented in the art of dragging out goodbyes, but I would like to say most of mine in private. Still, there are a handful of individuals who I could not possibly leave unthanked in this salute.
I come from a stellar lineage of editors. John Clark, Brandon Almond and Justin Bernick: I looked to each of you as the very image of leadership. I feel particularly fortunate to have spent a year serving on the board as managing editor with Justin, whose unwavering instinct for good journalism and the public good was the best primer for editorship I could have asked for in a predecessor.
With us that year on the board were Brian Cook, Guillaume de Torquat and Andrew Barros. I truly believe that, insofar as anyone will ever remember a managing board years down the road, this board will stand out among them.
But little could compare to my own stellar group of peers on my board: Becky Krystal, Kara Rowland, Josh Goodman and Leah Nylen. Nothing could have been accomplished this year without the unquestioning devotion of these four individuals, and I look forward to a lifetime of friendship with all of you.
And now we have all passed along the reigns to a new slate of leaders, all of whom are as capable as we could have possibly hoped for. In particular, Patrick, I cannot conceive a better person to lead The Cavalier Daily through the next two semesters. You have all the instincts of a natural editor and all the skills to see your vision for the paper into fruition, and I look forward to witnessing the many great accomplishments of your term.
But first and foremost, I owe everything to my wonderful family. I have been blessed with two loving parents and an extraordinary little sister who is herself a developing writer of great talent, and I look forward to seeing all that she produces as we mature together.
The Cavalier Daily will lose an extraordinary group of fourth years to graduation this year, and nothing will ever make me as proud as having been able to work among them all. I wish I could enumerate each individual here, but I couldn't possibly not express my dearest thanks to a few:
I have had the great pleasure to work side-by-side with Alexis Unkovic since the very beginning of my time at the paper, and the constantly improving quality of the front page is due in no small part to her efforts. Alexis, you are a talent of rare occurrence, and I know that, wherever we end up in future years, we will remain close friends with nothing but mutual respect for each other.
I owe a great deal as well to another woman of great talent and extraordinary means, Laura Good. Laura, your friendship is a gift of inconceivable wealth, and I can hardly begin to express my gratitude for every moment that we have been by each other's side. Your warmth of spirit has seen us all through more than one dire strait, and I can imagine no greater comfort for the future than our continued companionship in years to come.
And lastly, Greg Scanlon: Well, Greg, my self-proclaimed "superfriend," what could I possibly say but that you've been a brother to me?
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