The opinions expressed in The Lawrentian are those of the students, faculty and community members who wrote them. The Lawrentian does not endorse any opinions piece except for the staff editorial, which represents a majority of the editorial board. The Lawrentian welcomes everyone to submit their own opinions. For the full editorial policy and parameters for submitting articles, please refer to the About section.
As I begin my seventh and final term as Op-Ed editor, the temptation is to write something sappy. It seems like the natural thing to do. There is, of course, a great deal to celebrate in the section looking back on my reign of terror (only slightly joking). Early on, our new guest essay policy generated a huge quantity of content for a section with not quite enough writers — I recall maybe three or four, including myself — which in turn led to many more regular writers than we had before. This, in turn, led to more articles, and in particular, greater diversity of topics, styles and perspectives, which overall just made the section more fun to read and to follow. The section owes a great debt to Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Alex Freeman for many wonderful ideas and developments, perhaps none greater than her demands for photos and visual interest with nearly every article and page. (Though, the next Great Op-Ed Innovation may need to be finding a way to fit photos in our new cozier print layout).
Around this time, a simultaneous wealth of artists in the variety section and abundance of space to fill in Opinions led to the introduction of political cartoonists in the section. As far as I know this hasn’t been done before in opinions, and has been one of the most fun developments in the section for me personally.
Perhaps its only rival in terms of Inducing Editor Funness (referred to hereupon as IEF) has been discovering the profound impact the section has on the Lawrence community. When I signed on to be editor having never worked for any type of newspaper before, I did it supposing, as I think many Lawrentians do, that the paper is a neat side project with a small cult following of students and maybe a few alumni who read articles from time to time then move on with their day. And to some extent, I think this is true, but the longer I spend with the paper the more I’m astounded by the power of its platform. The first article I ever wrote was a satire piece demanding that the Commons serve a perpetual stew as part of its daily offering (don’t ask, QR code at the end if you’re interested). It was fun to write and to read, and I figured that was about it. The day the paper went out, though, I received a quick email from a student I’d never met before telling me they enjoyed the article and thanking me for writing it. Who would have guessed my articles would bring me fame beyond belief? Just kidding. The idea of brightening someone’s day is a classic, almost stereotypical, justification for the humanities, but it has certainly rung true for me. It’s been fun to be a day brightener for a change, rather than my usual routine of bright day freeloading.
What surprised me most beyond this was the tangible impact of my staff and even my own articles. I’ll never forget walking into the Cafe and seeing the glorious buffalo chicken wrap having returned to the menu under a bright decal reading, “We heard you, The Lawrentian!” after a particularly passionate article by Miri Villerius. When I wrote about the parking lottery, I was asked to meet with the Student Welfare Committee, and when I wrote about Giving Day just last term, I was asked to chat about fundraising at Lawrence with nearly the whole office. And I couldn’t help but notice that when I told readers that anyone can write an op-ed — yes, even you — there was a slight uptick in applications.
So it’s true, most of the time, writing is a case of pushing the needle ever so slightly, or maybe even just day brightening (which is still important and valuable!). But at times, Opinions writers may find themselves at the center of meaningful changes on campus, or even be responsible for quick fixes.
And it’s not the case either that I’m some genius or second coming of Anderson Cooper or anything like that either. For me, the job has been a matter of caring. If the editor cares about the quality of content in their section, about building relationships with their staff and other editors, and about improving their section however they can, I think everything turns out ok in the end. That being said, I’m pretty tired, and as a fifth year senior it’ll be nice to spread out the goodbyes across more of the year than just June. So when the job is posted in a couple weeks, I hope you’ll think about it. I’d love to pass the reins to you — if I can do it, anyone can.