In 1946, reporter and editor Stanley Herald wrote a piece on journalism entitled “What Makes a Good Reporter.” Throughout the piece, Herald extolled the virtues of what he considered good reporters, epitomized, in his mind, by the work of H. L. Mencken, one of America’s most famous newspaper writers. Herald ended on a rather melancholy note about the future generation of reporters, noting that many of them did not seem to get the same enjoyment out of reporting that older generations had. “Maybe,” Herald concluded,  “they are right, and maybe we were wrong.”

After reading the article, Mencken wrote Herald a letter, expressing his thanks for the kind mention. Despite his legendary cynicism, Mencken ended the letter on a positive note, saying that: “I had more fun doing news reporting than in any other enterprise. It is really the life of kings.”

As I prepared for my departure from the Ram, I found myself thinking about what Mencken had to say. Since 1946, attitudes toward reporters and newspapers have hardly improved, and nowadays, when you see mentions of journalism, it’s usually in the context of hyperpolarization, “fake news” or declining print revenues. 

I joined The Fordham Ram as a copy editor within the first few weeks of my arrival at the university. Copy editing, in case you don’t know, consists of checking over articles for simple errors in grammar, spelling and syntax. It includes the removal of the errant Oxford comma, the rewording of a sentence for clarity’s sake or the replacement of a term with its appropriate abbreviation. It is not a glamorous job. There are no famous copy editors. When we are recognized (if we are recognized at all), it might be in the back of the book, buried in a list of acknowledgments no one can be troubled to read. My job, for the past four years, has consisted of sitting in the darkened basement of B-52 for hours at a time, rereading articles and searching for errors I might have missed. 

With such a riveting description, one might conclude that the job was hell; but, much like Mencken, I have to say that I’ve never had such fun in my entire life. I didn’t know why I came back, week after week, to sit there for longer and longer periods of time; but come back I did, and I found myself doing so with increasing enjoyment. 

I think half the reason I love The Fordham Ram so much is that it feels like it matters — and not just at some vague unspecified point in the future, but in the here and now. So much of what we do as students feels like it’s merely laying the groundwork for some future endeavor. We work hard in school to get good grades, so we can find a job, so that, in some hazy potential future, we can finally experience the joy and purpose adulthood is supposed to bring. At The Fordham Ram, however, every week, I found myself creating a paper that felt like it mattered in the present. 

We covered everything from Fordham’s presidential transition to union protests to USG elections. We provided a space for student opinions on everything from social media influencers to global politics. We wrote profiles on student research and student athletes. We gave the next generation of writers and journalists a chance to practice their skills. In our small way, we kept people informed and provided a voice to those who would otherwise be voiceless. 

Over my tenure at The Fordham Ram, I have edited more than 3000 articles. I have made tens of thousands of edits. I have spent almost 700 hours in the Ram office. I have carried close to 300 pizzas to feed hungry editors. I have posed dozens of philosophical questions, played game after game of Skribblio and BS and listened to what I think is every Taylor Swift song that has ever been created. And I have loved every second of it. 

The other half of why I love The Fordham Ram is the staff, who are some of the most passionate, talented, good-hearted people I have ever met in my entire life. It would take a newspaper full of stories to give all the credit that is due to them, but with the small space I have, here are some brief shoutouts:

To all former members of the Ram who have since gone on to bigger and brighter things: to Vanessa, Ava, Amanda and most of all Hanif, it is a privilege just to share a planet with you, let alone a paper. 

To all the section editors — but especially Nicole — who poured their hearts into making a paper every week, and never once complained when we told them picture captions had to go beneath the attribution — I cannot wait to see all the amazing things all of you will accomplish.

To every single one of the amazing copy editors who have come and volunteered their time in return for little more than a stray slice of pizza, my job would be impossible without you. And to the greatest copy team a production editor could ask for, Nicki, Nora, Jamison, Sophia and Hannah, you guys are the best. 

And finally, to Seb and Isabel: the Ram could not have asked for better leaders. I could not have asked for better friends. 

Truly, this is the life of kings.