For someone who wanted to be a part of the campus newspaper since first year, boy was I clueless. I took for granted that each issue I picked up from a stand was part of a natural chain that would continue to reproduce every week of my time on this campus. I had no idea about the intense weeks of planning, interviews, and writing that went into each issue—and that’s besides the hours put in on Sundays designing the layout that determines the cover and headlines we read each week. Being a part of this year’s editorial board has taught me a lot about what I’ve taken for granted at UTM—not just the existence of this newspaper, but the people and politics on our campus, the agendas underlying every public statement, and the incredible power of the written word.
I feel really blessed to have worked with members on this year’s team who are so hard-working, supportive, and dedicated to such a great resource for students on our campus. I am honoured to be able to continue working as part of the team next year and I look forward to taking on new challenges together.
A very sincere thanks to everyone I’ve worked with in the office, my volunteers, and especially my two associates, Menna Elnaka and Nicole Danesi, who’ve been invaluable sources of insight, support, and friendship this year. A big thank-you to Larissa Ho for being among the first people to see potential in me, and for being such an inspiring mentor. And finally, thank you to Luke Sawczak for always pushing me to do my best and for putting so much heart into this newspaper, which I never really knew anything about until I met the faces behind it.
For all of our readers who are staying on our campus, and those who are leaving, I hope you’ve enjoyed each issue as much as we’ve loved preparing it. This year has been an exciting one and I hope you’ll continue to follow the players and politics on our campus next year—there’s no predicting what will happen, but I hope you’ll join us for the ride.
Maria Iqbal
News Editor
