Just over two years ago, in her first Inside Column as Editor-in-Chief of The Observer, Margaret Hynds wrote, “for every time I tell myself what we do doesn’t matter, there’s another moment we play a crucial role in telling the story of this community and its students.”
These words, as most of Margaret’s have since the very first News meeting I attended during my freshman year while she was News Editor, resonated with me when I read over her column again to find some inspiration for my own.
I often find myself having conversations during which a student asks how often we print The Observer. When this happens, I usually feel a twinge of disappointment for a moment before I proceed to inform him or her that we print a new issue of the paper five days a week, excluding breaks and reading days.
Sometimes the student follows this up by expressing shock that at least one person remains in our office in the basement of South Dining Hall until the early hours of the morning Monday through Friday to send the paper down. Sometimes they follow it up with an “Oh, cool,” and we leave it at that. But either way, I always remind myself that while most students don’t always pick up a copy of The Observer when we print it, there is bound to be a story we tell that will cause the person with whom I am speaking to do so.
Lately — after trudging from my room to the office at 4 a.m. to update the front page of the paper with information we received when production was already done, and after seeing various articles and staff reports updating students on the latest developments in events posted all over social media — the importance of The Observer could not be more clear to me.
Not every story is going to be important to every member of the University, but every story is important to someone. We will continue to cover all facets of the community — from the story of a lecture delivered by a visiting speaker to a preview of a dorm event to a wrap of a sports game — and by doing so we will continue to gain perspective on life at Notre Dame and be prepared to cover those events that are of more interest to campus as a whole.
While some people may forget, we’ll be here, right below the stir-fry gas line in the basement of South Dining Hall, five nights a week so that we may ensure the Notre Dame community is better informed about what happens on this campus.
Having the responsibility to make sure we do so comes with plenty of pressure — I can’t say I am not a little daunted by the job I’m taking on — but it also comes with an excellent group of extremely dedicated people who will contribute to that effort.
It is because of these people that we will continue to “play a crucial role in telling the story of this community and its students.” And it is an honor to be the one to lead those people over the course of the next year.
So, whether you pick up a copy of The Observer every day or you occasionally click on a Letter to the Editor a friend shares on social media, know that just as we have been for the past 51 years, we’ll be here.
