On the Tufts campus, today is a day of "lasts." It's the last day of classes this semester for all undergraduate students. It's the last day of classes ever for some seniors. And it's also the day on which this semester's last regular issue of the Tufts Daily is published.
Yes, you'll have to tackle any remaining review sessions without the benefit (or detriment?) of our estimable Sudokus and crossword puzzles: What you're holding in your hands is the Daily's 59th and final "normal" issue since Jan. 17, 2006. (Our 60th issue, the behemoth color Commencement edition, will hit the Hill the weekend of May 20.)
As such, today is a bittersweet day for me. It's something of a relief that the long hours and late nights I've logged at the Daily office have drawn to a close. (As managing editor extraordinaire David Pomerantz pointed out to me the other day, "Patrice, do you realize we're going to have 60 extra hours a week? That's two-and-a-half days.")
But though it's definitely been the busiest, most stressful and most intense semester of my four years at Tufts, this semester has also been, by far, the most rewarding.
The constant commitment, journalistic integrity and spot-on news sense of my managing editors, known fondly as "The Daves" (David Cavell and the aforementioned David Pomerantz), have made fulfilling my role as Editor-in-Chief of the Daily a pleasure as well as a challenge.
If I didn't genuinely adore and respect these guys, I would have lost my mind about a week into the semester. I will miss our quality time in the basement of Curtis Hall, but I am thrilled to know that it - in conjunction with the hard work of everyone involved - has resulted in one of the most content-, photo- and feedback-heavy semesters in the Daily's recent history.
Not all of that feedback has been positive - which is a good thing. Complacency is any publication's worst enemy, and as such, the critical words that have come our way have been as welcome and as valuable as the words of praise that have done the same.
It's been an honor to interact with you, the members of the Tufts community, through the pages of this newspaper. I can't thank you enough for reading and responding to the Daily, and for allowing me to play a role in your lives. I can assure you that you've played one in mine.
In closing, because he said "goodbye" far better than I ever could, I'll co-opt and slightly alter the words of one of journalism's heroes: "Goodbye, and good luck."
- Patrice H. Taddonio, Editor-in-Chief
