The Campus is defined by the people who love it, who care for it day-in and day-out and who carry on its legacy by donating hours upon hours of their time each week. Not because they’re paid, but because this is how they serve their community.
The Campus might seem like it is a given part of Allegheny’s community — after all, it’s been around for 150 years, and it magically shows up on newsstands each Friday morning. But I want to take a moment to reflect on how remarkable this newspaper actually is. Each week begins with nothing but ideas, but it ends with a full newspaper. Literally everything you see from The Campus exists only because of the work of our staff. On Mondays, The Campus staff fills every seat in our tiny, cozy newsroom on the third floor of the campus center, where we spend an hour conceptualizing what next week’s issue will look like. When laying out the paper, we use a masthead and page setup designed by generations of our staff members, some of whom I’ve never even met. At the end of the week, we send off 10 pages of material — often surpassing 15,000 words — to the printing press. All this while also balancing our classes, other extracurriculars and spending time with our friends. It is truly remarkable, and I never cease to be amazed each Wednesday night that we’ve done it again.
Through all of this, there’s a simple truth: I would not be who I am today were it not for The Campus. When I think back on my time at Allegheny, I will remember the ruckus of our Wednesday 8-hour layout marathons, the feeling of sprinting with staff members across campus to cover breaking news and the countless late nights of going through stories line by line to ensure they’re the best they can possibly be. I will remember the rush of our reporting successes, the way my hands shook as I began certain interviews and the deep satisfaction of seeing staff members walk onstage to accept student journalism awards. The Campus has taught me how to write, what questions to ask and to always seek the truth — even if it’s deeply uncomfortable. It has taught me how to lead in stressful situations and manage a massive project each week. But more importantly, The Campus has been an environment that nurtures curiosity, aspiration and perseverance and has brought me invaluable friendship and community. Above all, it has taught me to always do what is right, not what is easy.
To The Campus staff: I am beyond proud of you. The work you put in each week, the zest you bring to the table and your commitment to serving our community inspire me each and every day. When it’s the middle of the night and there’s still work to be done, you are who I think of to motivate me to keep going. Working with you has been the highlight of my four years at Allegheny. Even though it might feel intimidating, there’s not a doubt in my mind that you’ll thrive in carrying on this newspaper that we all love so much.
To Professor Crowley: Thank you so much for always pushing me to ask the next question, even if it feels impossible. It’s a skill and a mentality that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Your guidance and wisdom are invaluable to The Campus, and I hope that many generations of students after me will benefit from having you as our teacher.
To Sami and Roman: Thank you for teaching me how to be a journalist and for always picking up the phone. I knew nothing about journalism as a freshman, and I would not have been able to progress to editor-in-chief were it not for your continued mentorship and friendship. You are proof that while editors-in-chief graduate, they will always make time to pick up the phone and lend a helping hand.
It has been one of the great honors of my life to be elected to lead The Campus for the past two years. I am incredibly proud of this newspaper and so excited to see what it accomplished in the future. (And I promise I will always pick up the phone.)
Thank you for everything.
Anna Westbrook
