It’s been difficult to summarize everything I’ve wanted to say in what might be the last words I’ll ever write for The Stute, in my final editorial of the last issue of The Stute I will edit. It feels unnatural to imagine college life without The Stute, but after four years of being involved, over a year of being Editor, and an undeniable dedication to the newspaper, I know it’s time to leave this post a bit earlier than I planned for. Elections for the 2022-2023 e-board of The Stute will be in a few days, instead of March. A new Editor-in-Chief and other officers will soon take over.
When writing this piece I was inspired by one of the last editorials former Stute Editor Audrey wrote, titled “Notes for the next Editor In Chief.” I’ve continuously come back to Audrey’s pieces throughout my editorship and general time as a member of The Stute, and often turned to Audrey in the form of frantic text messages asking her what to do or simple questions anytime something came up. She was always there for me, and I offer the same support to the next Editor. I’m going to try to remove myself from The Stute for the remainder of this semester (watch me not follow this at all and write a news article next week, classic!) but I will always be available for a long ranting session, a quick text, or anything in between.
I wanted to mirror Audrey’s piece and offer some advice to the next Editor or anyone interested in this position in the future.
First off, I think it’s important to know your reason for wanting to hold this position. The best reason in my opinion is if you have things you want to change and/or improve within The Stute that maybe your current position doesn’t allow the time for. For example, if you really want to work on improving Stute’s IGTV presence, but you’re busy working with writers and copy editing, being Editor might be a place to work on those other interests. While the job comes with its own responsibilities and stressors, there’s a lot of extra room to work on projects of your choosing that can really make an impact on how The Stute operates.
If you plan to run for Editor, you should know the biggest issues The Stute currently faces or will face in the immediate future. Right now I would say these are digital distribution, print distribution racks, photography workflows, and editing workflows. Staff numbers are another issue, but one I think we’ll always have, and planning recruitment programs/tactics is something every Editor should prioritize in the background.
I believe that having concrete plans and action items for how to improve these systems, or at the very least ideas about how to address them, is really important. Likely, if you’re considering running for Editor in the first place you already do have goals, and of course, having your own ideas by recognizing legitimate or potential problems is also great.
Being Editor is like taking on another course in your schedule. While I can’t say an exact number of hours per week it takes to do this job, it is a big time commitment and you have to have enough passion to be OK with working a lot and not getting paid. The reason I think it requires a lot of work is because you are ultimately responsible for everything, so even though you have people doing everything for you (in a way), your name is still attached to everything as the Editor. Reading through everything, catching small details, and style editing take a lot of time and it can be stressful being responsible by default.
But while it is something big to take on, it’s also an immensely rewarding part of a college experience that is quite unlike anything else. It’s a thrill getting to hold this position, and you will learn a lot about yourself. Make it fun, because at the end of the day, this is a student organization and also a family. There is room for growth and failure, and you have to be comfortable with both.
I’m sure I could write 100 more pages of advice for future Editors, but I’ll cap it here. New editorship is a chance for change, a fresh perspective, and a new voice at the top, which I think is really exciting! I don’t want this “goodbye” to be sad because it shouldn’t be! It’s a time to get re-energized and try some new things. I’m so excited to see the future of The Stute and where a new Editor can take it, and if you ever want the other 99 pages, I’m always here.
The Stute Editorial is an Opinion column written by the current Editor in Chief of The Stute to address and explain editorial decision making, discuss news and media issues, and develop a sense of trust and transparency between readers and members of The Stute.
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