Last year marked the Newswire’s first-ever summer edition. Last year was all about debuting a new layout and a new outlook. It was about turning over a new leaf, overhauling the past and looking to the future. It was about recognizing that the time had come for some of the books of the past to be closed, no matter how hard we had tried to read and re-read them, so that we could open new ones and discover fresh stories.
This year? Well, it’s not quite the same. There’s much less “new-ness” to it. Our staff is new in the sense that most are in new positions, but they are no longer rookies on the job. Our layout is new in the sense that our masthead now reads “Volume CV” instead of “Volume CIV,” but it is no longer the big change that came to the Newswire over the summer. The summer edition is new in the sense that it’s a new issue, but it is no longer our “big debut” to the rest of campus.
These thoughts, among others, have been running through my head throughout the summer while reflecting on this upcoming year. In fact, a lot of my reflections as of late have concerned “new-ness” — or lack thereof.
As a senior, I find that much of Xavier lacks that fresh, new feeling that first-years experience as they step on campus for the first time. As the Editor-in-Chief entering my fourth year on the Newswire staff, I find a similar feeling. Does that mean I want to leave Xavier or the Newswire? Of course not — it merely indicates that I’ve been around the block a few times by now.
But more importantly, what that also means is that I have fallen in love. It means that I love Xavier and the Newswire so much that even after the new-ness wears off, I want to stay.
I have remained at Xavier because I love my classes, my professors, my extracurriculars, my friends and much, much more. I have remained with the Newswire because I love to read, to write, to edit, to lay out a page, to interact with staff members, to see everyone come together to produce the paper and much more.
You see, I found my niche — at least one of them — with the Newswire. I love storytelling, I love being creative, I love writing and most of all, I love the Newswire. It’s hard to imagine my time here at Xavier without it.
So what does this brief digression into personal reflection have to do with this year’s summer edition?
Well, I think the same thoughts outlined above apply — the summer edition, now in its second year, does not have the same new-ness it did last year. And that’s OK; it doesn’t have to. What’s more important is what it represents, and it represents us: the Newswire staff.
Even without a shiny, new layout and a shiny, new summer edition, we’re still dedicated to telling stories. We still uphold a mission to inform, educate and promote debate. We’re still journalists, dedicated to telling you the story of life on Xavier’s campus and the surrounding community. We’re still committed to “reporting the news and explaining its significance,” per our mission statement.
Last year, with a new layout, a new staff and a new way of doing things, we hoped to establish our place on campus, just as I sought to establish my own niche as a student. And I think we’ve done that — but we’re not going to stop there. Now that this new-ness has worn off, we can continue to put our noses to the grindstone and use our established place on campus to further our commitment to storytelling.
So yes, while this year marks our second-ever edition of the summer issue, it still marks our first-ever edition for the 2018-19 school year, and it still marks a new opportunity to renew our commitment to informing and serving you, our readers. Here’s to a new year and a new(ish) Newswire.
Ellen Siefke is a senior English and Spanish double major. She is the Editor-in-Chief for the Newswire from Mount Prospect, Ill.