For the past few weeks, I’ve spent hours every night sitting at the table, trying to come up with the perfect words to say about leaving the Pendulum.
Although I will not be graduating until May, this week marks the beginning of the end of my short career in print journalism. The Pendulum wrapped up its yearly production cycle last Monday, marking the conclusion for graduating seniors — myself included — of months of grueling headline debates and sleepless nights.
This time last year, I was helping my predecessor Rachel Southmayd re-write her last editorial during the final leg of her term as opinions editor. Now I write to welcome my successor, Audrey Horwitz, and to say goodbye. Well, okay, goodbye sounds pretty lame and melodramatic after only a year of doing something, but hear me out.
When I wrote my first editorial roughly a month after getting hired, I admit: I was clueless. I had no concept of what was newsworthy and my column topics were rambling and overly complicated. But after 27 editorials, 91 rewrites, six last minute topic changes and several plates of Subway cookies, here I am.
Over the past year, I’ve been constantly challenged by the daunting task of compressing our campus culture into 700 words every week. I’ve been tested by the rigors of putting out timely and relevant content every week. I’ve been overwhelmed by the demands of a rapidly changing industry I hadn’t planned on entering.
But most of all, I’ve been honored by the privilege to help shape our campus dialogue.
The Pendulum has been no stranger to controversy during my term as opinions editor. Our stances on issues such as voting against Amendment One, the recent Chick-fil-A debate or the functionality of SGA voting policies have evoked the praise of our peers as well as the ire of our critics. And while we were not above making mistakes, we were always prepared to correct them.
As opinions editor, I’ve been the subject of multiple personal attacks because of what I’ve written (a special shout out to the girl who called me a callous idiot because she didn’t agree with an editorial I wrote). I have watched as students and faculty penned intelligent rebuttals and opinions in response to the stances taken by The Pendulum every week over recent events on campus. I have listened as students engaged in serious discussions over what I’ve written from every corner of Elon, from the classroom to the dining halls, the fitness center to the library.
The articles that grace the pages of The Pendulum every week are a testament to the quality of The Pendulum as an organization, and to the character of the students who make it happen: independent, always questioning, collaborative, observant and sometimes fueled by a little too much caffeine.
To my fellow staff members: We’ve experienced the best and the worst in each other. From your commitment to promote free speech and expression through relevant campus journalism to my penchant for Batman impressions and bad puns, I’ve accepted that we’ve had our differences. But I always knew that even when our ideas clashed, our goals were ultimately the same.
Those at The Pendulum will continue to report on the issues that matter to you, from the successes on our campus to the mistakes and failures that are worthy of attention. They will continue to promote free speech and expression, and petition on behalf of the student body and the community as a whole in the name of transparency and information.
Whether or not you agreed with what I had to say each week, I want to thank you for reading, and I hope if nothing else, it prompted you to consider the topic for yourself and develop your own opinions on it. And while you may occasionally find my name and picture splashed across page 13 in the months to come, I am sad yet proud to say the honor of shaping our campus dialogue is no longer mine to hold.
In my first in-depth piece for the arts and entertainment section, I interviewed senior Dylan Moon about his belief of the importance of theater in our society.
“I think one of the greatest things theater can do is hold the mirror up to society and show us things that we are potentially overlooking," he said.
I believe the same can be said about journalism.
So for the new staff of The Pendulum, I have only one request: Elon is waiting every week for you to hold up the mirror and show us what we are overlooking. They are waiting for you to say something that matters. Be sure you say something that matters.