By Sean Ray | A&E Editor
It hurts to write this. Growing up, I never liked change and still don’t really. Anytime we moved houses, I complained loudly. Heck, I got annoyed when furniture got mixed around. Eventually I learned to cope, but it didn’t make things any less difficult.
My time with The Duke has been some of the happiest moments of my life. I would do this forever if I could. Becoming the A&E editor was the most amount of responsibility I’ve ever been given, and I enjoyed doing every moment of it.
For once, I had a voice. For once, my love of movies was going toward something productive. For once, I had friends who shared my love of writing as much as I did. And to have that all go away, even if only temporarily until I find a job, is hard.
But I take solace in the fact that I made my mark. The sidebar on page nine became a lot more interesting under me (it used to just be one long weekend events column). The Duke has a larger staff now than it has had in probably a decade or two, and a large part of that is made up of my writers. I created the “Best of the Year” special edition, something I hope my successor keeps up with.
More than that, I will always treasure the friends I’ve made down in our newsroom. Spending an entire Wednesday locked up in one area is never easy, but they made it more than tolerable. They made it fun. Plus, I appreciate the fact my colleagues put up with my antics and horrible jokes.
You surprised me so many times, Duquesne. One moment, you’re the quietest campus around, the next, you’re raining down hellfire because somebody called you a libertine or bought a ring statue. I’ve seen album reviews of major artists barely get any attention, but then an article about some niche-interest cartoon get thousands of clicks online.
So, with an eye for the future, I’ll leave you this piece of advice: You cannot afford to not get involved around campus. Without The Duke, I barely would have done anything outside of the dorm room. With it, I’ve learned more about my future career than any classroom could ever teach (not that I don’t appreciate the wonderful teachers in the JMA department). It is important to keep up on your grades, but it is just as important to get experience for your future outside the lecture hall, and it breaks my heart when I talk to journalism students who don’t contribute to The Duke, DS-TV, WDSR or one of the other student organizations on campus.
And with that, I bid you adieu Duquesne. From your cozy atmosphere, to your terrific professors, to the wonderful group of friends I’ve made here; I’m going to miss it all.
