“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win
glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take
rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer
much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory
nor defeat.”

— Theodore Roosevelt, 1899

Definitely not your usual college experience, but I
wouldn’t trade it for the world. To all those with whom I
worked: Thank you for making this experience as wonderful as it has
been and giving it your all. To our readers: Without you, it
wouldn’t have been possible.

Louie Meizlish

Editor in Chief

 

“McCollough, get those TPS reports to me before 5
p.m,” says my boss, who worked his way up the corporate
ladder by kissing the right asses.

I scramble around my cubicle, trying to remember the Statistics
formula that I learned back at the U of M that will help me
complete these very detailed TPS reports. I get the job done in
time, whew (that 30K a year at the ‘U’ really did pay
off)! I leave at 5 p.m., after eight hours of grueling work with a
calculator. My index finger is killing me.

This would be my life — had I not walked into the Daily in
January of my freshman year. The Daily breathed life into me the
minute I walked into the building. I leave with the knowledge I
will be happy with my work for the rest of my life — what job
could be more fun than being a sports writer? I go to games, sit in
the press box, stuff down a hot dog and try to express the emotions
and implications of a game — a game for little boys, as we
all know.

And that’s why sports writing will always make me happy
— the little boy inside me will forever have an avenue to
come out and play.

I leave the Daily after two years of writing football and a year
of running the Sports section not with sadness because this chapter
of my life is over, but with anxiousness about a future
that’s as wide open as the Louisiana cotton fields I came
from.

“McCollough” won’t cut it anymore. It’s
J. Brady, thanks to the Daily.

J. Brady McCollough

Managiing Sports Editor

 

This is the only place in the world where I’ve ever gotten
away with acting like a responsible adult and a lighthearted child
at the same time. Props go first and foremost to my Creator, for
giving me the strength to bring sunshine back into the building
every single day, even after so many of those never-ending
late-locking nights. Then there’s my family, for refraining
from saying “I told you so” every single time I said
something that deserved such a comment. To my friends and KMB, for
convincing me to do this, and reminding me that “you
can’t fit a square peg into one of those circle
thingies.” To the Daily and my staff, for teaching me how to
distinguish constructive criticism from malicious garbage, and the
success that comes with giving from your heart. The best life
lesson I ever could have learned from working at a daily newspaper
is that life doesn’t stop.

It’s time to move on now, and I look forward to what the
future holds (I see Surah Shams and a lot of yellow!) Good luck,
Team Thugged Out and YAYTEAM!!!!

Shabina Khatri

Managing News Editor

 

Gollum Todd: If you know me at all, and let’s face it I
know everyone on campus, you know I hate The Daily. Hate, hate,
hate it. I fully supported the Daily Boycott and burned papers
along with my cross. I continuously apologize to my college
roommates for never seeing them and never doing my weekly task from
the Chore Wheel. College was supposed to be an educational
experience, and instead I wasted my time critiquing the very field
I one day want to be a part of The Daily consumed my soul and
snacked on my still-beating heart. Fuck you, Daily. Fuck you.

Smeagol Todd: I never wanted to be a part of The Daily, but
thanks to the weezer.com message board and fellow user Luke Smith,
I took one step in 420 Maynard and could never leave. Partially
because they wouldn’t let me, but mostly because I fell in
love with it. I love the past: Erin, Fogelj, Robin, Lyle, Luke,
Jeff, Andy, Matt, everyone else. And I love the future: Jason,
Alex, Adam, Zach, Jason, Andrew, no one else. The present
wasn’t so bad either…Berkley represent! And for all my
time here, this is all I’ve learned: “For relaxing
times, make it Sontori time.”

That’s that.

Todd Weiser

Managing Arts Editor

 

My college experience has consisted almost entirely of me
stumbling into exactly the right places at exactly the right times.
I stumbled into the Daily, a wide-eyed freshman, and I’m
about to stumble out for good — a wide-eyed senior.