Today’s editorial comes to you from a true Villanovan ancient. I’ve been on the Villanovan since my second semester freshman year, when I actually served as the Opinion Editor and wrote this editorial every Tuesday night. Now, after 4 years of Tuesday nights, a few other roles in-between, and a lifelong appreciation for good journalism, I leave the Villanovan in the hands of a new team. 

A lot has changed since my days as Opinion Editor—the topics we write about, the website, the number of pages, even the color of the office walls. But one thing remains the same and will remain the same long beyond my years at the University: The importance of having a campus newspaper. 

Many of the people that have made this place so special to me have probably never picked up this paper. Many of the people who I interact with every day do not even know that I have been the Co-Editor In Chief for the last twenty issues. This comes as no surprise to me, as even I am an infrequent reader of the free publications that circulate around our campus. To ask a college student in 2017 to pick up a physical newspaper, to actually read the print in a public space, to engage with the content on campus is an unrealistic dream. But for the few that do, I have to thank you, and so do the rest of us at the Villanovan. For those that do, you are the reason the writers and the editors in Dougherty 201 are able to speak for the campus and provide a voice for so many here that deserve one—that need one. 

Although I have been involved in many things on campus over the years, nothing has taught me as much as my experience at the Villanovan. I have interacted with so many of you and heard your stories, your opinions, your concerns, and they will stay with me—even though this is my last editorial, and my last Tuesday night. A newspaper is an amazing, underappreciated artifact today and I can only hope that its legacy and its message can continue to affect this community and the dedicated students that produce it for another one hundred years. Read the Villanovan. Read any newspaper. Engage with the content—there’s something to be said, but more importantly, there’s something to be learned here. I thank you and the Villanovan for all of it.