A look beyond the pages

I had absolutely no idea what elective or fine art to choose when I first came to St. Mark’s my freshman year. Part of me thought film studies (who doesn’t like movies, right?), and part of me thought ceramics. But, in the end, I went with journalism, and, to be honest, I can’t really remember why I chose it. Did I want to improve my writing? Did I see a ReMarker laying around and think it was cool?

Either way, it’s been one of my biggest commitments these past four years. All the interviewing, writing, editing and designing, sometimes late into the night, sometimes on Saturdays when I’d rather be watching college football. I’ve invested a lot of myself into the Hersh Journalism Suite, and I’ve certainly reaped the benefits.

I’ve been fortunate enough to interview NBA stars, the police who watch over our campus every day and even former ReMarker editors. I’ve covered topics like pharmaceutical drug pricing, social injustice and the new schedule. I’ve experienced the incredible sense of accomplishment that comes with holding my very own 32-page newspaper.

But what’s the point of it all? Sure, I’ve made memories and gained skills I’ll take with me once I leave St. Mark’s, but is there any greater significance to what I’m doing? As I work on my fourth-to-last ReMarker ever, I’ve started to reflect on what exactly the role of The ReMarker is on our campus.

Our mission statement delineates that we are to produce a “top-quality student newspaper applying the highest standards of writing, editing, coverage and production,” but at the end of the day, I think our job is just to provoke meaningful discussion on campus. It’s as simple as that. If just one person picks up a newspaper out of the 4000 we print each cycle and then strikes up a conversation, debate or any other exchange because of it, then our community is better for it.

We, as a ReMarker staff, did our job.

And my decision to pick up journalism freshman year was worth it.