This school year, I am the Editor in Chief (EIC) of this amazing publication that I have been on staff nearly since my day 1 at Mills in 2012. To be this high on the ladder of The Campanil is exciting and SO extremely nerve wracking. I still feel like our old EIC will be coming into the office at any moment to tell me to get off of her computer.
The Campanil has been embedded in my Mills College experience, and I hold it so near and dear to my heart, which I think is a big reason why I am freaking out so much! I’ve seen three other EICs run the show. I have seen three different ways of not only deciding what gets published but also how to manage a staff of at least 8 peers. If I have learned one thing from those three women it is that the staff is just as, if not more, than the single EIC desk. I am so lucky to have a fantastic staff that I know will put in as much work as their grades and health will let them.
Which leads me to you, the reader online, or walking away from one of our blue distribution boxes reading this. You are far more important than any staff or EIC that this paper has. While the staff of The Campanil may be the organs of this paper, you, the readers and contributors and commenters and Facebook likers and story subjects are the skin, pores and everything else that goes into this newspaper’s body.
This leads me to the few requests I have of you, dear readers. First off, please contact me at eic@thecampanil.com. Second, give us ideas for stories, columns, blogs or photoseries, tell me when a story was good and tell me when a story is bad or problematic. We are all learning from each other and this newspaper and its staff is no exception. I am a firm believer in the idea that you learn something new everyday, so let this paper perhaps teach you something and in turn, teach us something.
It’s funny. People I am close with know that I have been working my ass off to one day be the Editor-in-Chief of The Campanil. Now as I sit here in my weird shade of green office, I still feel like I have a ton left to learn. I still feel like one of the old EICs will come into the office and ask me why I am sitting here. Some of those same people who know how hard I have strived for this position tell me that I am the most qualified and ready person to be at the helm of this newspaper for the school year. But that doesn’t quell my fears and insecurities. But with a fantastic staff, advisor and mentors, along with my amazing cheerleader of a partner, I think it will be fine. I just have to remember that everyone, including myself, is still learning.
