Fare thee well, Huntington Avenue. Adieu, Northeastern. See ya later, Shillman Cat. After five years at Northeastern, it is time to move on. I know, however, that the Northeastern I am leaving is not the same one I arrived at as a freshman.
When I got to Northeastern in 2008, the university was ranked 96th in the nation by US News and World Report. Last fall, the same publication ranked Northeastern 56th in the country – a 40 spot increase. Though it’s easy to be cynical and attribute that rise to “more flat screens,” we all realize that it is really due to the dedication, initiative and successes of innumerable students, alumni, professors and administrators.
When I arrived, there was no International Village – construction of the residence hall had not yet finished. Five years later, construction on a 17-story residence hall behind the Huntington Avenue YMCA building is underway.
There was no space-age visitor’s center, no Rebecca’s Cafe and no wiffle ball field outside of Speare Hall. Instead, I had the NU Shuffle, a football team and yes, I bought a class pack at Gnomon Copy.
One thing that has remained constant during my tenure here is The News. In fact, my first issue of The Huntington News was the paper’s first after declaring independence from the university, moving off campus and changing its name from The Northeastern News. We were both freshmen in the fall of 2008, and after five years it’s come time for me to bid The News farewell.
I know The News changed me as a reporter, an editor and as a person. The most valuable lessons I learned at Northeastern came in the dingy newsroom above Huntington Liquors, not in a classroom.
But The News would not be the exceptional independent newspaper it is, and my Northeastern experience would not have been as significant as it was, if it weren’t for the work of each and every member of the paper’s staff. Students who juggle classes, co-op, shreds of a social life and the newspaper bust their asses every week to publish The News and we all benefit from that hard work.
Most importantly though, The News was a home away from home for me; its staff a family. In five years of working together we’ve laughed, we’ve fought, we’ve shared sleepless Wednesday nights and groggy Thursday mornings. Through it all, we’ve grown together. There is no doubt that the support and friendship of The News staff has made me the person I am today, and I am infinitely thankful for those friendships.
Northeastern will continue to change, I’m sure. The News and I will both continue to grow. I know The News changed me for the better, and I hope I did the same for it.
Go Huskies!
-Colin A. Young is the editor-in-chief of the Huntington News
