I remember picking up a copy of The Daily Orange during my Newhouse tour in early 2019 and judging it. This was my routine on all college tours: finding a copy of the student newspaper and assessing its greatness. Some were very underwhelming, just as my applications to those schools must have been, because I was rejected from them. 

When I first saw The D.O. I already knew I was going to Syracuse. Going here was not my top choice, but I was going to make the most of it, and this newspaper was the first thing I set my sights on. I could never have known then how much of a purpose and a community it would later give me. I still don’t really know how I got hired amongst all of this talent but I am so grateful that I did. The best thing about Syracuse University is The D.O. and the best thing about The D.O. is the people.

Anya: The other day I overheard someone ask you how we became friends, and you answered “I don’t know.” I don’t really remember either — you have always just kind of been there. I do remember going to The D.O. open house with you, and subsequently having a one-sided competition with you on who had the most photos in print. I was scared you were going to outshine me, and you definitely have at times, but I am so glad because I could not have done this job (or this school) without you. 

Emily: It goes without saying that I have learned a lot from you. You are constantly impressing everyone with how much you can do — I truly don’t know how it’s possible to respond to a message in every single Slack channel at once, take beautiful photos of people during prodo, do reads, run the entire paper and continue to be the warmest and kindest person. Your words of encouragement mean so much to me because I respect and admire you so much. 

Sydney B.: Thank you for sharing your Culture wisdom with me, as well as your home. Literally, I am so glad you let me be your random roommate. There is no one else I would rather constantly run into in my house and end up having a 30 minute conversation with. I am really going to miss living with you, but I have a feeling we are going to be friends for a long time. Also, you’re an amazing journalist. 

Sydney P.: Utilisez Google Traduction pour lire ce paragraphe. J’espère que j’etait une partie du Culture si je t’aurais rencontré plus tôt. Mais, je t’ai rencontré et je suis heureux. Tu es si chouette et drôle. Je suis excitée d’habiter avec toi. JTM.

Louis: thank you for letting me camp out in your section and distract everyone. I hope I was helpful sometimes. You are such a hard worker and an impressive idea factory. I’m sorry you got concussed. 

Nate: You are a great journalist and an even better musician. I can’t wait to see you take over my favorite section. 

Corey: You were the first face that I was introduced to at the open house over two years ago, and ever since then you were so supportive of me despite my extreme incompetence at times. Thank you for welcoming me into the photo section and for inspiring me to become photo editor. 

Meghan: You are such a talented photographer, and you’re still so dedicated while carrying the SU marching band on your back. I can’t wait to see you as photo editor. You will definitely be 10 times more organized than Anya and me combined. 

Wendy: I think you took 90% of the assignments this semester — you never turned one down. And each one was beautifully executed. You are so talented, and the paper would have been very empty without you. 

Shannon: Your love and talent for visuals is everywhere: in the pages, the visuals room, your apartment (still can’t get over how nice it is) and all those videos you had me take out of your car window when we went to the Adirondacks. I hope you get to paint your mural. 

Maya: I love talking about TV and music with you when we should be working. My favorite thing was when you encouraged me to do the Taylor Swift song sorter which took me an hour in the middle of prodo, but it was worth it. You are so good at drawing, and it’s really hard. I’ve tried it. 

Mandy and Abby: Thank you for keeping everyone sane. You are both so kind and hardworking. 

Culture staff: I love being a fake culture staffer for the last month or so, thank you all for being so welcoming. You are all so epic. 

Visuals besties: Without you all the paper would be just words, and who wants to read? You are all brilliant, I will be watching you all thrive from overseas. 

Kylie: Thank you for saying that the only time you look at The D.O. is to find Anya’s and my pictures. I hope you learn to read some day.

Published on December 9, 2021 at 2:53 am