EDITORIAL: Where we stand, one year later

The 114th Board of Managers and Editors look back on its year at The Daily Pennsylvanian. As we, The Daily Pennsylvanian's 114th Board of Managers and Editors, reach the conclusion of our term, we have the chance to reflect on our endless hours in a windowless building -- hours that were motivated by the desire to bring the University community a professionally written, reported and designed newspaper, day in and day out. And while we hope we succeeded, we realize that the year was about a lot more than simply putting out a newspaper. We've made friendships that we know will last a lifetime. We've learned about ourselves and the ups and downs of being part of a team. We've struggled to maintain our identities as journalists alongside the recognition that we are also college students. And we've tried to remind ourselves every day of the amazing responsibility that comes with being the campus' principal source of news. In a year of tremendous change at the University, we've tried to do more than just report the news. We've strived to provide context and analysis -- to help our readers understand not just what happened and why, but how individual events fit into the big picture. Most importantly, we've tried to be fair -- even when it makes us unpopular. Throughout our coverage of the November attack on a female sophomore in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, or our stories detailing the University's closed search for a new provost, we operated on a simple premise: The students, faculty, staff and alumni of the University have the right to know what's happening on this campus. During it all, we've tried to be fully cognizant of the burden of history. In our coverage of Penn's $300 million dormitory and dining construction plan, or the opening of Sansom Common, our graphic designers, photographers, reporters and editors labored to create newspapers that will stand the test of time. Our time, though, has now come to an end. And as we prepare to bid farewell to a newspaper that has been our home for months of long days and sleepless nights, we take pride in being able to leave our successors a better paper than we received. To our friends on the 115th Board of Managers and Editors, we wish you godspeed and the best of luck. We can only hope that one year from now, you will leave the DP with a similar sense of pride in a job well done. To our readers, we thank you for making the long hours worth it. And to each other, the members of the 114th, we hope all the journeys yet to come will be as fulfilling as the one just ending.