Following in the footsteps of my predecessor, I have chosen to write a fun little kiss off for my time as editor-in-chief. I am sure this piece will be full of the same “sappy sentimental reflection” as last year’s.

Serving our campus community has been an interesting and largely positive undertaking this year, regardless of whether the feedback we have gotten has always been popular.

As the cliché goes, “what’s popular isn’t always right, and what’s right isn’t always popular.”

The Shield isn’t always popular, and that’s okay.

It is our job to inform the student body of the things happening around campus, despite how people are going to react. Personally, I am proud of everyone who has contributed to the paper this year for stepping up and doing their job, even if it made them unpopular in various campus circles.

Feedback from our readers – even the negative feedback – is appreciated. Something we, here at The Shield, tirelessly try to remind people of is that The Shield is completely student run. We put to practice what we learn in our classes right here in our newsroom every week.

I will always be proud of this newspaper. We have dedicated writers and editors, who work for little pay, to strengthen their profession because they love what they do.  While most readers probably don’t read the entire paper, at least there are a select few who choose to stay informed.  You make the daily trip through the furniture maze outside our office doors well worth it.

Quite frankly, the number of people who would rather remain ignorant to the goings on in their own community staggers me but hey, this isn’t Pokémon, you really can’t catch them all.

Looking back over the year, I have to say that I am pleased with all The Shield has covered, how we handled criticism and with how much we have grown. I would say that has been the best part of being editor-in-chief, seeing my editors and writers grow and become more confident. If I helped with any part of that this year, then my job wasn’t in vain.

One last thing that has made me just as happy as it did my forerunner is that The Shield has still not been used for toilet paper.