From left, Zach Horrall, Alexis Price, Marisa Miller and Dana Lee pose with a Collegian award. The newspaper received second place best newspaper at the College Media Association awards. Collegian file photo.
ALEXIS PRICE | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | adprice1@butler.edu
Almost four years ago, I wrote my first article for the Collegian: an opinion column titled “The art of storytelling.” After approaching a random guy on a bench and interviewing someone I was trying to befriend in my FYS, I stressed the importance of storytelling. And in my four years at the Collegian, I think we have succeeded in that.
When people congratulate or compliment me on a job well done, I never really know how to respond. I usually decide a simple “thank you” will suffice and let them know I will pass it on to the staff. Because the truth is, every compliment that is for me is for all of the people behind me. The reporters. The editors. The designers. The photographers. Without these people, I wouldn’t have a job or a role to play.
People always say “teamwork makes the dreamwork” and “there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’” and all those cheesy things. But being on the Collegian is about being on a team. It’s about breaking a story when our entire editorial staff is in class. It’s about having a group message of six people — one person emailing administrators, one person talking to that person they know in that organization, one person typing up a quick tweet.
Being on the Collegian is about learning. In my four years here, the Collegian has gone through several changes and challenges. From four switches in advisers, to six transitions in editor-in-chiefs, to sexual assault reports and other breaking news, we have always worked as a team to tackle them head on.
So, to our readers: thank you for sticking with us. Nothing we do here is always perfect. But we hope with each new change we can be that much better for our readers.
Four years ago, I would have never predicted quiet, opinion-writer Alexis would have applied for editor-in-chief. In my first story, I disregarded basic attribution rules. My AP style knowledge was minimal. I only interviewed two sources. But I did get one thing right:
“In the end, the best souvenirs are ones we can share with others, and I aspire to pass these along. I aspire to share stories of thrills and stories of sorrow, stories that spread a profound idea or make people chuckle. Because when you’re walking past another person going to class or sitting on a bench, you don’t know his or her story — until the person tells it and you listen.”
That’s what I — we — have always strived to do here at the Collegian.
