It was the best of times: Collegian editor Ygartua says Farewell

I knew when I weighed the decision last spring whether to become editor or not that the year was going to be a long one. I knew I wouldn't be sleeping much, I'd be stressed and I would struggle to keep my perfectionist tendencies in check. I didn't expect to have as much fun as I did, learn as much from my intelligent and creative staff members as I did or be as proud as I have been.

This past year has not been the easiest, but it has been full of variety. My staff covered everything from a hurricane, an earthquake and Obama's visit during the first few weeks of school, to Jepson's choice to elect another controversial leader-in-residence and the shots fired by campus police just before Winter Break.

We reported on head football coach Latrell Scott's resignation after a second DUI, the changes to the lodge attendance policy and the arrest of offensive lineman Jimmy Speros just a few weeks ago. We introduced you to the new dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Kathleen Skerrett, remembered the victims of 9/11 in a special section dedicated to the 10th anniversary and reported on the recent mourning of alumnus Michael Ice.

Our aim as a paper has been to provide a forum for free expression, to inform the campus community about issues that concern this community and to teach our staffers what it means to be journalists, deadlines and all.

If there's one thing I can say about this year, it is that I believe we met those goals.

I can't thank my wonderful staffers enough for how much time they put into their jobs, their incredible teamwork, and their talent. They were all willing to learn, be taught and in turn to teach. They taught me to delegate better than anyone else has.

As editor, I stressed about the little things that could go wrong, and sometimes did, and worked hard to correct mistakes before we published anything. But this job taught me, as no other job has before, that mistakes happen, and that there's always next week.

While there were times when we encountered disgruntled readers, sources and former writers, I was proud of how each staffer handled themselves and their professionalism.

I'm also proud of what we were able to accomplish as a staff. We met all our print deadlines, even if it meant leaving the office at 5 a.m. We reworked our management and deadline policies to try to bring you coverage in a more timely manner and worked to ensure that coverage included videos, slideshows and stories. We also tried to streamline our paper design to make it more reader-friendly.

While I didn't necessarily accomplish every goal I had for the paper, I met my most important one: to have fun. Although, in some ways, I know we all dreaded Wednesday nights, I ended up looking forward to them. I loved getting to know the people who bring you your news, features, opinions and sports each week and I hope you enjoyed getting to read what they produced.

When asked recently whether I would do anything differently, I answered no. That's my greatest accomplishment.

Thank you to our loyal readers, our supporters, our critics, our diligent journalism advisers and the dedicated assistance of those in the Controller's Office. I must also mention my patient friends who waited up for me into the wee hours of the morning. You all made this year worthwhile.

And now, without further ado, I turn this paper over to the entirely capable hands of Maria Rajtik and her new staff. I wish you all the best of luck. Not that you need it.