Beloved,

What a wonderful wintery flurry of emails we have gotten lately from you, our readership and voice. It’s good to know you’re reading and care what’s printed here. But as you pack your punches with Clay-esque bravado, remember we are students too.

Yes, we publish buzz. No, we are not ashamed of it. We’ve never pretended to be anything more than a student newspaper, and we accept your righteous exhortation that we avoid sensationalistic journalism. Clearly you are correct. We need to be better reporters; we need to be better writers. That’s why we write.

As tempers flare and fade this final week of classes, lets be mindful of our goal: knowledge. One poorly expressed thought is easier to criticize than to correct. Rather than venting our sexual, spiritual or social frustrations, lets dispel rumors. If our facts are wrong, tell us what is right. We appreciate and welcome comments and corrections. As one English professor points out regularly in his class, James Joyce called mistakes the portals of discovery. So as you poke holes in our paper, we thank you for the light.

At Mass Media we have several wonderful additions to our motley gang of scriveners this year, who have been working tirelessly on improving our student paper. Natasha, Carolina, Erik and David are just a few of our newest supports, and they rarely get a byline. Still at the end of the week, they ensure that our paper comes together and prints on time. Without them we would be lost.

Also our newest editor, Baris consistently comes up with excellent and interesting content, highlighting our diverse student body. His insights are always interesting and fun to consider.

As this semester winds to oblivion, we hope any people we offended with our words or images find peace this holiday season. We may inadvertently disrupt it again, but for now, to all those sad and wary student governors, to all you hardworking and misunderstood police officers, to all the students and professors who find our ideas crass, take heart. We care about your efforts and ideas more than some of you may think. You are the reason we exist.

Thank you student body, faculty and administrators, for your input this semester. And remember that we are online as well, umassmedia.com, your comments are always welcome and read.

Yours Eternally,Caleb Nelson