First and foremost, I want to thank you for reading the opinion page in particular and the Herald in general.
Part of me can’t believe that I’m writing my final column – maybe you can’t believe I am writing yet another column. This has been one hell of a ride and I’ve had a blast. But I have to say farewell, both for my own sake because I’m getting too old for this and for your sanity. You’ve probably heard enough of my opinions to last the next four years.
Besides, one of my favorite things about editing was meeting new writers and seeing them hit their stride. And while I’m going to miss being a part of this newspaper, it’s time for me to get out of its way. This spring, I’ve already enjoyed seeing this page continue to evolve under the leadership of Editorial Page Editor Briana Reilly.
The bottom line is that you, dear reader (yes, you) make everything we do possible. If it weren’t for people like you, who give a hoot and a holler about campus issues, city policy and sometimes rather obscure state legislative intrigue, people like me would have no reason to get out of bed in the morning. To those of you who comment on columns and write letters to the editor, keep it up, and to those of you who get heated about what you read and could go on about it for 600 words, write for the opinion page! You will be doing future editors, columnists and readers a favor by getting on their case – believe it or not, they are people who like to be argued with.
I’m certainly not the first person to think that the greatest threat, not just to democracy, but to humanity in general, is apathy – for a multitude of reasons that you can probably list for yourself. You might guess that this page of the newspaper means something to me. For one thing, it means a non-trivial number of people care enough to give apathy the double birds. I didn’t expect this to get so intense or cynical – then again, I have been stuck inside doing schoolwork on a number of beautiful days this week. Maybe it’s the lack of Vitamin D talking.
The Herald is fueled by people who work hard because they love their work. And my coworkers were fueled by dedication and commitment to excellence, staunch loyalty to the University of Wisconsin’s only truly independent student newspaper and yes, a variety of caffeinated beverages and snack foods. While I think my professors held my work to a reasonably high standard of quality, I know that my editors at the Herald expected more.
For precisely that reason, I’m confident that I learned just as much working for the newspaper than I did in class. I want to extend a warm thank you and a shout-out to the Herald staff for teaching me how to write, edit, have some fun and for demonstrating the sort of work ethic and integrity I will aspire to in the future. You people inspire me.
You probably want to get back to whatever you are doing, whether it’s studying for finals, procrastinating, or basking in the beginning of summer – I should do the same. So I’ll leave you with a few simple words to live by that I heard from a former Heralder and won’t ever forget: “Do nice things with your life.”
Charles Godfrey (godfrey.cw
