It feels strange, writing this, knowing it is the last article I will write for the Etownian, knowing this is my last production night in Steinman. I’m not sure the reality has sunk in just yet, that this interval of my life is done, that by tomorrow I will no longer be the News Editor for the Etownian.
My first experience in journalism was a class I took in my senior year of high school. I fell in love with the work, and when I arrived at Etown I was quick to add my communications major and jump into writing for the Etownian. That year, I reported on major and minor events alike, interviewed people (be they students, professors, or guest speakers) and I learned that AP Style does not approve of the Oxford comma (or at least I started to… we’re still working on knocking that habit out of me). I learned how to write well and write quickly, skills that have proved useful countless times.
When I returned to the Etownian after my year abroad, I became features co-editor, and the semester after that, news editor, where I have been for the last three semesters. I continued to write my own articles, designed the layouts for my section and tried to pitch and assign articles about things that matter to the students and community of Elizabethtown College. There were days where I loved everything about the paper, and days where I was frustrated beyond belief, but throughout it all, I wanted our paper to report on stories that are important. I hope we succeeded.
Student journalism is so valuable and important, even — and perhaps especially so — when the work is difficult and unrewarding. This has been said by people with far more experience and talent in the field of journalism, and likely won’t come as a surprise to many reading this, but communities suffer without journalism and reporting. That this is a college newspaper does not make that statement is any less true. Our paper is here to serve the students and it is our platform to speak for ourselves. It is both how we keep people accountable and how we encourage and celebrate the people in our community.
It is a common lament in the Etownian offices that we don’t have enough writers, frequently called out when we have too many things to cover and not enough people to cover them, or the people we do have can’t report on something. I appreciate every single person who writes for us, and I understand when they can’t take an article, whatever the reason. All of us on staff do — we’ve been there ourselves.
Still, I wish more people took an interest and spent some time writing for us. It’s not just for people majoring in journalism or English, and there is value in the work for everyone. You get to talk to people you might never have met otherwise, you learn about events and issues on campus, you get to see and consider things from other perspectives and, depending on which section you write for, you can share your own opinions and ideas. It doesn’t even have to be a weekly commitment; you can write every other week if that fits your schedule better!
Writing for this paper has made me feel more connected to Etown and the people here, and I am so grateful for the time I have dedicated to the Etownian, and all the people I have worked alongside and learned from while here. I thank you all — our writers, our photographers, our editors and assistant editors — every single one of you. This paper wouldn’t be what it is without you. It’s been an honor to be part of this team, and I will miss it.
