Reflecting on my year as editor in chief and the true lessons of college

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MATTHEW BUNCH

It’s hard to believe an entire year has come and gone. It’s hard to believe my tenure as editor in chief is coming to an end. It’s hard to believe it’s almost summer!

All those things are exciting and scary and exhausting, but I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what I’ve learned and experienced and try to relate it to our readership.

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone on the staff of The Miami Hurricane for an amazing year. I have had the best staff in the world of college publications and, without them, a twice-weekly newspaper would be impossible. Of special note are the seniors, who include Danny Bull (multimedia editor), Erika Capek (assistant news editor), Joshua W. Newman (opinion editor), Pravin Patel (sports editor), Nate Harris (copy desk chief) and Lauren Whiddon (multimedia editor). And I can’t leave out my long-serving compatriot on the business side, Nick Maslow. Good luck to all of you in your post-graduate pursuits, and I’ll see you in the BUC on the 15th.

Now on to what I’ve learned. I risk becoming cliché, but as I sit around Lake Osceola for my last few days as a student here, I reflect on the best times and wish I could relive them again. I still remember Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma and the crazy parties that followed. I still remember crushing Virginia Tech as the whole school was crammed in the Rathskeller. I still remember when SportsFest mattered so much, and losing to Hecht might as well have been the end of the world. Those memories, and so many more, really illustrate why college is so valuable.

So much is put on U.S. News and World Report rankings and student-to-faculty ratios, but the most important learning the college experience offers is outside the classroom. It’s learning how to be less of an awkward mess when surrounded by a bunch of your peers and a cooler of beers. It’s learning how to get food in your stomach when you forgot dinner and all of a sudden it’s 2 a.m. It’s learning how to bring a bunch of college students together twice a week and somehow, after long hours in a small newsroom, producing a newspaper. College’s most important lessons are social, not academic.

So to those lucky enough to have more time at this fine institution, relish it. To those of you who say you can’t wait to get out of here, don’t you say that. Don’t you ever say that. Stay here. Stay here as long as you can. For the love of God, cherish it. You have to cherish it! From Billy Madison’s mouth to God’s ears, it’s the best bit of advice you can ever hope to get. Good luck to everyone, and keep reading next year. It’s going to be better than ever.