After four years of publication nights, I feel I deserve a nap. Photo by Jonathan Wang.

AIDAN GREGG | MANAGING EDITOR | agregg1@butler.edu 

I discovered the existence of The Butler Collegian’s Senior Sendoff three years ago, reading my brilliant opinion editor’s goodbye, “Katie Freeman cannot be stopped.” Right then, I knew that I would be here, three years later, writing mine. 

But now, as I sit with my editor-in-chief and fellow managing editor for a writing-and-boxed-Franzia night, for the first time, I’m not entirely sure what to say. 

For these three years, I have agonized over what I would write when it came to be my time. I had a million ideas. From a polemic against university administration, to a manifesto about the importance of free collegiate press, to a rallying cry for student activists, my ambitions for this final piece have been infused with the same spirit of stubborn contrarianism that has informed my writing from the very beginning. 

“Aidan Gregg expresses discontent with Butler University” would not be breaking news — and be an awful headline, word to former EIC Dan Cooreman. At this point, I’ve butted heads with countless campus institutions. These include, but certainly are not limited to, Butler Athletics, several fraternities, former College of Communication faculty, the Office of General Counsel and, of course, Butler Blue IV — he knows why. 

Perhaps more important, though, are the friends I have made and the change I have had some small part in. I am proud to say that I have told some of the most important stories on this campus in the last four years. At the risk of indulging in egoism, I have covered sexual misconduct lawsuits against the university, shared the stories of students coming together to mourn losses in their communities, exposed rampant mismanagement and turnover in the Title IX office and broken the news of the tragic passing of a Butler student. 

I wrote stories that mattered. I wrote stories that brought change to this campus. But still, there are countless unwritten stories waiting to be told at this institution. I realize now that it’s time for mine here to end.

As much as I have railed against Butler University, it has seen me through the absolute best and worst times of my life. I have grown to love the person that it has made me. 

But, I would not be that person without the family that I found here. To borrow a metaphor from former managing editor Bridget Early, “My life is a quilted mosaic, bolts upon bolts of fabric from people I love.” Now, I think I want my last words for this paper I love to reflect the eclectic, often strange and beautiful mess of that quilt. 

Katie Freeman, Caitlin Segraves and Reece Butler showed me what it is to be an editor. Katie’s humor and creativity, Caitlin’s level head and activist ethos and Reece’s fundamentally no-bullsh*t disposition taught me to lead with my heart and to stand by my convictions always. 

Annie Faulkner is perhaps the wisest person I’ve ever met. Owen Madrigal has never failed to make me laugh. Leah Ollie has a superhuman grit, drive and intellect. Isabella Ernsberger has an unmatched passion for every experience. Each of them inspires me to be better. We’ll always have New York. 

Sarah Hohman is the most effortlessly cool and effortlessly funny person that I have ever met. Our paths would certainly never have crossed without the Collegian, but where would I be if I hadn’t? Certainly not on a couch watching her view the 2016 World Series for Senior Sendoff inspiration.

Emma Young is stupid funny, stupid talented and stupid stupid. Not only have they given me countless laughs, a job at Starbucks and an abundance of nasty reads, but also the gift of their friendship. 

Jack Williams, Ty Vander Eide, Seamus Quinn and I have nothing in common. We have few shared interests and very different personalities. Nevertheless, the memories, laughs and sh*thole house we have shared are proof of the power of chosen family. Though we part ways soon, I know we will always be together; home is where the heart is, and mine will always be with them. 

I have learned more than I ever could have imagined about sports from Caleb Denorme, Sawyer Goldwein and David Jacobs. I hope, in turn, that I have instilled in them a greater knowledge and appreciation for the wonderful world of English grammar. 

The dedication to this paper that Gabi Morando, Alison Miccolis, Emma Quasny, Maddie Wood, Mae-Mae Han, Lauren Gdowski, Haley Morkert and, of course, Dr. Tatsiana Karaliova have shown to the Collegian encouraged me to give my all to this paper for the last four years. Each of them are owed credit for every success I have had here. 

Without hyperbole, I can say that Ellie Howe, Allison Blake and Dasha Carver literally saved my life. I would not be here without them, and I will never be able to express to them how grateful I am to them for that. 

Whether they realize it yet or not, Emma McLean, Lily O’Connor, Anna Gritzenbach, Maddy Broderick, Piper Bailey, Jada Gangazha, Liz Stevenson and Kayla Campbell are the future of this paper. I have had the privilege and pleasure of watching them grow over the last years and cannot wait to see where they go next. 

There is plenty more to say about this institution, more truths to uncover and more stories to tell. But, it’s no longer my turn to tell them. I have closed my laptop screen for the last time, turned off the lights of Fairbanks 210 for the last time and made the quiet midnight trek home for the last time. 

But, whenever I am up late on a Tuesday night, unable to sleep, my mind will wander back to the little office in Fairbanks I have called home for these last four years. I will see the fluorescent light beating down above me, feel the cold night air after a night of hard work and hear the laughter of my best friends around me. Although my story with The Butler Collegian has come to an end, these memories never will.