Dear readers,
To say that I’m ready for this job and the many challenges that come with it would be a lie. I’m excited to be the editor–in–chief of The Campanil, but ‘ready’? Hardly. Over a dozen credits of English classes and probably 40 published articles under my belt couldn’t even come close to preparing me for the immense responsibility of heading an entire publication.
But don’t interpret this confession as a complaint— I am incredibly honored to work with and lead this team of passionate and fierce writers and editors. You might not see us that way. You might think that we have no idea what we’re doing. Or that our paper is chalk-full of mistakes.
Many of you have not seen us frantically running around the newsroom trying to cover a story as ethically and thoroughly as possible. You may not have seen us ordering a pizza in the middle of the night, our only comfort during a long production session. You don’t see me right now, writing this letter in my office at 9:56 pm on a Friday night while our news editor, managing editor, and design editor still sit in the room beside me, unwilling to go home until the front page looks perfect.
For a long time, I felt like I had to fiercely defend the paper and I felt an emotional pain every time someone criticized us. One of the hardest and greatest lessons I have learned is that it is okay to admit that you are wrong. It is okay to mess up. And blindly refusing to admit when you are wrong does not —and will not—make you or your work better.
The Campanil has made mistakes. We have had obvious typos that we should have caught long before our pages went to press. We have published articles that are less than perfect. We have had pages that are messy. We have offended and hurt people with our actions and our publishing decisions. Admitting all of this doesn’t mean that any of us are bad editors; it means that we are ready to move forward and try harder than we ever have before.
I understand the responsibility I have and I am both terrified and excited by it. I hope to help bring you a news platform that accurately represents the nuances of our community and that unifies us by carrying a thread of communication throughout the campus. I do not take any of these responsibilities lightly.
We are all a part of the same community. Please, call us out when we make mistakes. Tell us when you think we’re in the wrong.
We are ready to listen.
Ari Nussbaum, Editor in Chief
