<rks the final issue of The Carletonian for the 2008-2009 school year, and it also marks my final issue as Editor-in-Chief. As I’ve reached this first of many lasts this Spring, I leave this position knowing that the paper is better off now than when I started.
The Carleton campus was never devoid of news this year, and I am happy to look back over the past 24 issues and know that we did our very best to bring the Carleton community coverage of that news. When the global financial crisis hit Carleton, DeeDee Rupert covered the delaying of the Arts Union; Lauren Blacik wrote an excellent article about the uncertainty facing Carleton’s financial aid, and Cristina Sainati broke the story on the housing crunch due to fewer students traveling abroad. The Carletonian also brought you informed coverage of the events leading up to Barack Obama’s historic election. When the Office of Campus Activities and the Division of Student Life struggled to find effective leadership, The Carletonian was consistently on top of the issue.
Furthermore, thanks to the leadership of Web Manager Shane Auerbach, we brought The Carletonian online for the first time ever. Our coverage of the Carleton community now reaches across the world, and in this respect alone the year has been a success.
This year as Editor-in-Chief, then, has been a rewarding one. I’m thankful for the opportunity, and I’m thankful for the hard work of consistent writers, copy editors, photographers, and our senior leadership staff, a list too long for me to name here.
But, as expected, this job was a hard one at times. Editor-in-Chief of The Carletonian is typically a position that receives more criticism than appreciation from the student body, despite the time that this job requires. It seems that it has always been that way. But I am not complaining – that is just the way it is. During the CSA election of Winter Term, The Carletonian published a piece written by one student in support of a candidate, and in opposition to another. Students decried the piece as libel, and in their need to find someone to blame, criticized The Carletonian and the Editor-in-Chief for publishing it. The fact of the matter is that there will always be students who think they can do things differently, or will criticize when something is done that they do not like, but only rarely will offer to help.
Being in this position has given me a unique insight into the workings of the college, and I leave Carleton after these four years knowing that this is a place that is not always happy. This college has many issues, and I think this was stressed more than ever with the release of the Campus Climate survey results earlier this year. The college attempted to respond to these results with all-campus discussions and dialogues, but, not surprisingly, these discussions had low student turnout, and in the end I believe no progress was ever made. Carleton needs to work harder than it has to be able to address the underlying problems and issues facing the student body, or else things will continue to get worse. Carleton is changing – that much is certain. But amidst the new dorms, facilities, and budgets, Carleton can not forget its students. Carleton can not forget what the Campus Climate results revealed about students and staff feeling uncomfortable here. That needs to change.
As in past “final editorials,” I know it is customary for me to close by remarking that the sun is coming up, or it is 5:00 a.m. and the beginning of a new day as I look to the real world. But that was never the case with me. It was a rare Thursday night when I would be up past 1:00 a.m. But that’s okay with me. I guess I did things my way.
I guess that’s game. Be seein’ ya.