I am the Editor-in-Chief of The Dickinsonian. What that position means, and what lengths I can take to fulfill the duties attached to the position, have changed over the course of these four months.

When I first took the position in September, the role of Editor-in-Chief was that of an organizer. My duty was to help ease the paper out of summer stagnation and back into regular production.

By the middle of October, the role of Editor-in-Chief was that of an assistant. I was finally into the production of the paper again and helped the other editors with layout and article writing. I was involved in every section, both guiding and working. Now, in December, as I lay out my last article for the season, my role has shifted to a semi-passive observer.

The newspaper has changed since I first joined in 2011. The faces are different. The positions are different. Even the paper itself, with all its small changes and slight additions, feels different now. But The Dickinsonian is still the same publication. The paper changes every year with the people that work for it. Sometimes we lose old faces, like our Photo Editor Jen Crowley. Sometimes we gain new faces, like our News Editor Emily Fineberg and Opinion Editor Christina Socci. And sometimes, in rare cases, we see old faces return, like our Managing Editor Meri St. Jean, our Life and Style Editor Laura Schorfheide and our Sports Editor Kevin Cottington. Not to mention the two-month old salsa I just found under my desk.

I am the Editor-in-Chief of The Dickinsonian. But that does not mean I am the only one who can choose where the paper goes. Our future, both next semester and next year, is up to those who call themselves members of The Dickinsonian.

This paper is a product of our team’s effort and I am thankful for their work. It’s been luck that they have only threatened to quit the staff about a hundred times so far.