It’s hard to sum up a year at Fordham University, especially this one. As executive board members for Volume 106 of The Fordham Ram, we got to be in the newsroom to witness historical events unfold before our eyes. However, we did not only observe these moments — we also reported on them. We interviewed graduate student union members and administration during their contract negotiations. Our reporters were on the ground when student and alumni protestors built an encampment at the Lincoln Center campus, joining the nationwide pro-Palestine college protests. We worked late through election night in the newsroom, producing the next day’s paper while watching Donald Trump be re-elected to a second presidential term. It’s been a wild ride, but our volume is now coming to an end. In other words, it’s time for this editorial board to say goodbye.
Throughout a year of writing editorials, we have strived to provide a thoughtful and considerate perspective to the Fordham community. As we have reflected in a previous piece, editorials are vital because they allow us to cover important issues Fordham students care about and communicate our values to the community with one voice. However, the news industry is changing, and editorials may be on the way out. Newspapers across the country are ending the publication of editorials. The newspaper chain Gannett stopped editorials because they believed “readers do not want to be lectured at or told what to think.” We think that this view is misguided because we have never thought of the editorial as a place where we lecture to our readers. Rather, it is where we can share our unique perspective about the Fordham, New York and American communities to which we belong.
Our belief in sharing our perspective is one we want the Fordham community to adopt. We challenge Fordham students to be more passionate about using their voices. Next year, our nation will enter a period of great change, and there is no doubt in our minds that it will deeply impact our university’s consciousness. Many of you may want to tune the news out, which is understandable. But there will be moments next year that test our values and who we are as Americans. When those moments arrive, don’t be silent; use your voice. Share your thoughts with a friend, attend a protest or even write an op-ed for The Fordham Ram. Your voice matters more than you think it does, and withholding it from the world prevents your unique perspective from being shared.
Furthermore, have uncomfortable conversations with people who you disagree with. Sometimes, when we go on about the importance of talking to each other, we forget actually to talk to each other. While their opinions may make your blood boil, it is necessary to understand why a person thinks the way they do. But don’t feel pressured to always find a middle ground in these conversations. Stick up for what you believe in, but be open-minded to criticism. When we are receptive to criticism, we become wiser and our opinions strengthen. So, Fordham, create a culture of passionate conversation and debate in 2025.
Before parting, we want to reflect on what it means to be on the staff of The Fordham Ram. Being part of this team is a huge commitment for everyone on staff, and it’s hard work. We have worked many late nights. Our first production of this volume ended around 5 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Some of us have passed up other opportunities, like studying abroad, so we could stay on staff. We have gotten angry emails and comments complaining about our coverage of events or opinion pieces we have published. “Why do this to yourself?” is a question many of our roommates, friends and even family members have asked us. Occasionally, we ask ourselves this question.
However the positive parts of this job vastly outweigh the bad ones. Walking into room B-52 in the McShane Campus Center basement fills us with a sense of excitement that no other room at Fordham fulfills. We have the opportunity to work with an incredible team of section editors, copy editors, staff writers, contributing writers, digital producers and business directors. If you visit us on a Tuesday evening, you’ll find a room full of warmth. It is a place full of happy people editing pages, writing stories, telling funny jokes, having impassioned discussions and eating slices of pizza. All of us are so lucky to be part of a community of students who have caught the “journalism bug.”
Every week, our team has the chance to create something bigger than ourselves. We get to make a newspaper, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
