What does a college student remember about Tuesday nights? For the outgoing members of the 27th Editorial Board of The Mirror, which just published its last issue, those memories may be of challenging, successful and, I hope, enjoyable long nights.
I can say that my year has been the most rewarding learning experience that I could have ever hoped for at this university. I can wholeheartedly say that having this opportunity to serve the university community has been an honor that I am very proud of.
Looking back, what a year it was. I don’t think that any could have ever envisioned such a year, covering horrible events such as terrorist attacks, or the events of Feb. 12 when a group of our fellow classmates and one professor were held captive inside a Canisius hall classroom. Likewise, events such as the Barone Campus Center anthrax scare and the current crisis in the Catholic Church presented numerous unprecedented challenges to The Mirror, but I am extremely proud of the professional manner of this newspaper’s staff through these rigorous situations.
In fact, it has been a year of many accomplishments for Fairfield’s student newspaper. This summer, The Mirror received honorable mention as one of the best weekly college newspapers at a prestigious conference run by the Cox Management Institute at the University of Georgia. Hits and page views on The Mirror’s website have also jumped from a few hundred per week to a weekly average of over 6,000. However, I am most proud of the fact that no matter the story, The Mirror’s current staff has always done its best to present all the facts possible to its readers in the most balanced way it could.
In closing, I would like to thank Dr. James Simon for the incredible amount of effort he has put in as this newspaper’s advisor. Though not always recognized for it, Dr. Simon is the major catalyst behind The Mirror’s great improvement over the past few years. In addition, I would like to thank my fellow seniors Allie Moonan, Maria DeRuccio and Jim Britton for the countless hours they’ve spent in our office both driving this paper to a new level and putting up with my antics.
As a group, we’re thrilled with the steps this newspaper has taken towards becoming one of the best college newspapers in the country and we remain confident that The Mirror will continue to blossom in the next year.
– Francis Washkuch Jr.
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