EDITORIAL: Where We Stood

The 111th Board of EditorsThe 111th Board of Editorsand Managers look back atThe 111th Board of Editorsand Managers look back atits year at The DailyThe 111th Board of Editorsand Managers look back atits year at The DailyPennsylvanianThe 111th Board of Editorsand Managers look back atits year at The DailyPennsylvanian______________________________ It is this satisfying exhaustion that is difficult to explain. On most nights when we worked until 3 a.m. desperately attempting to produce the ever elusive "perfect" newspaper, it was easy to question ourselves -- perfection is almost impossible. But today as we look back on the string of nights, we can more clearly recognize what our sacrifices have taught us. We have learned how to succeed and accomplish on a daily basis. We learned the meaning of meticulous detail, while struggling to keep an eye on the broader picture. We have gained a better understanding of the separation we have had to make between our identities as students and as journalists. We have each forged new friendships and have been part of a tremendous experience never to be forgotten. And, we have certainly learned that the power that accompanies the privilege of a free campus press must be forever respected. During our tenure we made a commitment to uphold the First Amendment at all costs and we believe we have achieved this goal. We spoke out at length in support of The Red and Blue when it was censored, and we had the courage to print a highly controversial piece criticizing Bisexual Gay Lesbian Awareness Days. As the University moves higher education into the next century, we have stayed on the cutting edge of information technology, placing the paper online and creating our own home page. Students and alumni can now access our archives from all over the world. We recognize the enormous number of people who contribute daily to students' lives, tirelessly trying to improve the college experience. We hope our series of feature and profile stories have helped students gain a better appreciation for members of the University community who may not work in high profile positions, but who are no less valuable to this school. Finally, and most importantly, we have tried to be fair, accurate and comprehensive in our presentation of daily news. This task was truly an awesome one. Our daily struggles had one purpose -- to produce the highest quality product for our readers to enjoy. We are all satisfied by the progress that the newspaper -- and we as journalists -- have made over the past year. We now leave you in the hands of a new board of editors and managers who are full of potential. The 111th board considers itself very fortunate to work with the incoming editors and managers, all of whom are extremely talented and seem poised to take the DP to even greater heights. For two semesters we have followed our mission statement -- "learning by doing." But we gained much more than journalistic knowledge. We learned lessons that we can take with us even when we leave West Philadelphia, and we formed bonds with individuals who will be friends for life. That is what has made our experience at The Daily Pennsylvanian truly special.