PARTING SHOTS It changes your life if you let it

ism, but in reality, I had a lot to learn. Since then, I haven’t stopped learning new things as I moved up the ranks and sunk more time into the paper.

My two terms as a production editor were anything but ordinary, to say the least. After entering the junior board as a firstyear, I was initially intimidated by my older peers, nervous about the increased time commitment and skeptical if I could keep up with it all while trying to enjoy my short college years. Only eight weeks and eight papers in, COVID-19 sent us all home, upending not only my college experience but also my role at the paper. With uncertainty abound, I was unsure if there would even be a physical paper to produce. My next year and a half with The Cavalier Daily was spent mostly alone in front of my computer, getting the job done but longing for a greater sense of purpose and community.

With the pandemic seemingly behind us and the fatigue of

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back-to-back terms looming, a decision had to be made about my future on the paper. My philosophy at this point came to one as old as time — up or out. Ultimately, I took a leap of faith, committing to operations manager without a grand plan or platform for what I’d accomplish over the next 12 months. Blissfully unaware, I soon learned that I’d be leaning heavily into my “Cav Daily era” until my term expired next January.

As OM, I spent most of my time figuring out what I even wanted to and could do with my ever-expanding responsibilities. Coming from production, I knew print night like the back of my hand, but that was only one thing on a long list of daily, weekly and monthly tasks I took on. And while OMs of the past may have claimed their parting shot to be “the first thing they ever wrote for The Cavalier Daily,” that’s far from the truth for me. I wrote Instagram posts, grant applications, photo captions, newsletter

The Cavalier Daily

MANAGING BOARD

Editor-in-Chief

Ava MacBlane

Managing Editor

Lexi Baker

Executive Editor

Nathan Onibudo

Operations Manager

Ava Proehl

Chief Financial Officer

Charlie Healy

EDITORIAL BOARD

Grace Duregger

Ava MacBlane

Ford McCracken

Leila Mohajer

Nathan Onibudo

Songhan Pang

Shaleah Tolliver

JUNIOR BOARD

Assistant Managing Editors

Claire DiLorenzo

Alexandra Holmes

(SA) Ella Dailey

(SA) Isabella Gattuso

(SA) Kate Jensen

(SA) Sahil Patel

(SA) Karen Shin

Assistant Operations Manager

Honor Wood

(SA) Mary Kurbanov

(SA) Alexa Mosley templates — the list goes on. I also did a lot more than just writing. One thing about the 133rd term, we were never afraid to shake things up. If you had told me in January 2022 I would merge production with graphics and create an assistant operations manager by the end of the term, I would have called your bluff immediately. As for our refreshed social media, newsletters and analytics, I am overjoyed that I’ve left behind the groundwork for a thriving digital-forward future of journalism here at the University. I also hope I left behind my sense of humor, levity in tense situations and most of all, willingness to laugh at myself — insert long exposure joke here. But on a more serious note, The Cavalier Daily has also given me so much. It taught me how to lead confidently, tackle challenges head-on and tell stories that need to be told.

Honestly, I am not sure why I stuck with The Cavalier Daily after all these years. I’ve never wanted to be a journalist, but there has always been something about journalism I’ve clung to since high school. Maybe it’s the ability to call the shots, but it’s also always been about the people I’ve worked with along the way. Eight years later, I have made some of my closest friends, learned the most about myself and become a better person from it all. To everyone at The Beacon, thanks for giving me my start.

To Eva, Ava, Jessica and Katrina, thanks for being the best Managing Board I could ask for. And to The Cavalier Daily, thanks for changing my life, all because I let it.

ETHAN FINGERHUT was Operations Manager for the 133rd term and Production Editor for the 132nd and 131st terms of The Cavalier Daily.

News Editors

Avery Donmoyer

Merrill Hart

(SA) Eleanor Jenkins

(SA) Haylee Ressa

Life Editors

Miriella Jiffar

Cecy Juárez (SA) Elizabeth Parsons

Sports Editors

Ben Anderson

Jacob Tisdale

(SA) Ben Istvan

(SA) Alexa Mosley

Arts & Entertainment Editors

Olivia Garrone

Tanner Rowe

(SA) Jamie Jeong

Podcast Editors

Jake Adler

Katie Pile

Opinion Editors

Grace Durreger

Shaleah Tolliver

(SA) Ford McCracken

(SA) Songhan Pang

Humor Editor

Camila Cohen Suárez

(SA) Kate McCarty

(SA) Wardah Kamran

Cartoon Editor

Kaileigh Proctor

Photo Editors

Adaire Burnsed

Albert Tang

(SA) Proud Chandragholica

(SA) Kate MacArthur

(SA) Alison Pike

Design Editors

Lexie Gagnon

Mix Rudolph

Avery Suriano

Video Editor

Olivia Winesett

Social Media Managers

Covonna Bynum

Ceili Canning

(SA) Halle McCormack

(SA) Taylor Goodman

Translation Editors

Marina Peebles

Shuqi Ye

(SA) Alejandro Erazo

Analytics Managers

Bella Binder

Irene Si

Finance Manager

Wilson Simmons

Advertising Manager

Mason Lewis

Archivist

Grace Franklin

Less than four years ago, I attended an info session in the Newcomb Hall basement because I liked to write. That was it. I showed up early — because I have a thing about being early — and after sitting through the presentation, joined Sports and Copy. I was going to take it pretty easy for the rest of undergrad.

Needless to say, we all know that is not what happened.

So many people have told me how I should feel since completing my term. “You should be proud of yourself,” they’ve said. “Retirement must be so relaxing,” they’ve insisted. I have smiled weakly and nodded because I know that is how I am supposed to feel. That was the parting shot I wanted to write, but it would not be the truth.

Those close to me know I spend a lot of time thinking about the nature of this work and student self-governance. Much of this philosophy has been informed by George Orwell’s quote that hangs on the wall of my Lawn room — “In times of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

I’ve spent four years searching for the capital-T Truth. I don’t know that I’ll ever actually find it. If anything, I’ve learned that life isn’t black and white. In the interest of being