This is it. My last Chimes article. Until now, I have tried to keep my personal agenda and feelings out of Chimes in order for the newspaper to become the voice of the students, not the voice of Sarah Potter. But Sarah Potter has a few things she wants to say. So please, let me indulge myself in a transition-less ranting and raving about Chimes, newspapers and lessons I’ve learned from both.

Chimes…

Above the desk in the office I have called my own for about a year now, there is a shelf containing paper and ink and idealisms and inside jokes and typos. It contains the words of great men and women when they just were becoming great. It contains words of struggle, sarcasm, confusion and change. As I stare up at these volumes of Chimes from 1907 to 1998, I wonder how my words and service fit into this great scope, and if I have done honor to all that weight above my head.

During my tenure as editor in chief, we have made mistakes. I spelled “environment” wrong on the front page. We’ve misquoted people, given the wrong time for an event and printed pages with no graphics. We lost a couple of phone messages. A year ago when I was all starry-eyed and idealistic, I envisioned a perfect paper with intriguing graphics, a beat reporter system and stories that every student would read. Perhaps the most difficult lesson I have learned this year is that the imperfections of Chimes does not mean that we are inadequate or haven’t served the community. I have poured my life into this newspaper; while I apologize for our mistakes, I realize that there is nothing more of myself that I can give to this paper.

Students, when you pick up Chimes in Johnny’s on Friday and read the Campus Safety Report and look for comma mistakes, realize that your fellow students have sacrificed their time, grades, health and sanity for those words. When you see me in class with bags under my eyes because I haven’t slept for days, realize they are there for you. When you walk by the Chimes office on Wednesday night and see 20 people staring at computers, they aren’t there for their GPA — they are there for you.

While we have made mistakes, I think we have made great strides as well. Chimes has not backed down from tough issues this year, but hasn’t neglected other important ones. I have tried to strike a balance between a hard, impersonal newspaper and one that is just a bunch of students mouthing off. I think we did a good job. We have printed more pages than any other Chimes staff, and while that nearly killed us, the newspaper has been outstanding.

Chimes Staff 1998-1999; Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free... we’ve got plenty of positions open for 1999-2000!

I am very proud of the crafters of these words and pages – the Chimes editors and writers. The editors of Chimes are the most talented, dedicated and passionate group of people that you could fit under one roof.

To the Chimes staff of 1998-99: It has been the greatest privilege of my life to work with you, and I truly love each and every one of you. Thank you for watching thunderstorms, assigning your photographs on time, playing tag, staying here until 5:00 a.m. just so that I wouldn’t have to be alone, remembering when I have a test, reading my daily e-mails, loving each other, making me laugh so hard that tears stream down my face and hugging me when those tears are out of frustration. You have given me more compliments and confidence than I ever deserve. I can never give you enough of my kudos.

Newspapers…

One of the best things about Chimes and student media is that we don’t have to cater to our audience as much as “regular” newspapers, which form their content around their readers and advertisers. The result for most papers is: stories are getting shorter and shorter; pictures are getting bigger and bigger; there are more articles about health and less about foreign news. Call me crazy, but I think that we are losing something as newspapers drift further away from the New York Times and closer to USAToday.

A lot of people ask me why Chimes has a World News section. People wonder why some of our stories are so long. I have promoted these things in order to teach students to read good newspapers. We should read and care about foreign news and how it affects our world. We should be able to read complex stories about complex issues that can’t be summed up in a spiffy graphic. As Chimes editor, I have done my best to steer Chimes away from trivial journalism in order to teach our readers and writers to focus on serious events.

The death of the newspaper is being predicted by just about everyone except me. There is this comic on my bulletin board that has a guy asking a man selling newspapers: “Is there a more condensed version of the newspaper that doesn’t use big words or make me think too much?” The man behind the newsstand replies: “Yes … it’s called television.”

I would like to think that somewhere there are people that like to think too much. And I hope that some of these people are at Calvin College and have been served and perhaps even taught by Chimes.

Lessons…

I’ve learned many things this year, but I want to pass on the Chimes staff and other students something I haven’t learned. I anticipated learning a lot of ugly truths about Calvin as Chimes editor. I have found just the opposite. Students at Calvin are too quick to judge and criticize the community in which we live. Calvin College is a wonderful place, full of people who are seeking God’s purpose. The administration isn’t out to screw the students; they want to serve the students. Even if you disagree with how the college chooses to serve the students, their intent is good. What is more, they want to hear the students.

If you want to make your time at Calvin College more valuable, become an active part of this community. Stop complaining and learn why things are done and become a part of getting things done. (If anyone wants some direction in how to do this, e-mail me at spotte79@calvin.edu)

In conclusion…

So, here I am again. It’s 3:00 a.m. Those ominous Chimes of old are staring down at me, waiting for me to shut the door and add the 1998-99 volume. Van Morrison is playing my theme song … “Even my best friends, they don’t know … that my job is turning lead into gold. When you hear that engine drone … I’m on the road again and I’m searching for the philosopher’s stone.” My greatest hope is that Chimes has somehow supported you in your search for the Truth.