It’s the end of an era, and it could not have come any sooner.

Well guys, it’s finally happening. Some of the paper’s senior reporters are about to move into the big newspaper in the sky (otherwise known as college). This paper has been a significant part of my entire Malvern career, through both its joyous highs and its incomprehensibly frustrating lows. I’ve learned a lot from being on the paper.

I remember how the BFC was the first year I joined it; a humble little paper with dozens of reporters, with only one editor. I’ll be the first to admit it; I kind of miss it. It was when I pretty much only wrote commentary on news items, like I did with Occupy Wall Street. The freedom I had in expressing my opinion was what drew me to the paper. But by the following year, when the paper we all know and love just began to form, I knew that getting the facts to my fellow friars would make me stay with it.

It’s kind of funny, you know. That was a big shift for me to going from composing prose to reporting news. It might be a change of pace for any of you novice reporters, too. Writing a good article is easier said than done; being efficient with wording, carefully distinguishing between the facts and thoughts surrounding a story, or even sticking to using words below an 8th grade reading level. It will be difficult to adjust to no matter what, but I’m more than sure that anyone willing to put the time in it will master it without a doubt.

Another not-so-easy task of each of you reporters is to become a reporter in the eyes of your readers. Professionalism is the key to it all, and honestly, as someone who would spend days writing wacky pun filled headlines, it certainly sucked having to get mature for the drop. You don’t want some teacher you scheduled an interview with to not take you seriously, since that means they won’t give the material you need for the best article you could make. On the other hand, it’s important to try and be friendly with whoever you’re interviewing so that follow-up interviews aren’t as awkward or hard to schedule. I don’t think anyone would enjoy being simply used a quote factory.

It’s nice seeing how the paper has grown over the years. It’s clearly become a better tool for vocalizing the thoughts of Malvern’s community. From the various polls and surveys we put out to the comments on the blog articles, I don’t think anyone would doubt that Malvernians have something to say. I’m even more happy to see how reviews are becoming a bigger thing, both in the Arts and Media sections. I think that giving the students of Malvern a chance to share their opinions on new movies and music is one of the best opportunities we offer for our fellow students.

I hope that the paper continues to improve and be recognized by both Malvern and readers beyond it as the voice of hundreds of high schoolers (and maybe even middle schoolers in the near future!) I’m more than confident that our new Editors and Chief will lead this paper as well as this year’s team, and I also believe that our new reporters will be just as ready. This paper has a bright future ahead, but it will only get there if the people of Malvern want it to.