From where we stood

A year ago, we came to our positions as editors and managers of The Daily Pennsylvanian with the mandate to produce, night in and night out, a newspaper worthy of this University and of you, our readers. We aimed to reach new heights -- in writing and reporting, in photography and design, in Web site design and content -- while adhering to our time-honored commitment informing the University community and honoring the sacred principles of fairness and accuracy. And while we hope we have succeeded, we realize now that this enterprise is about much more than paper and ink. It is about the awesome responsibility that a free press, with its credibility on the line each day, has to the people it serves. It is about about the people who toil through the night for little pay and less recognition. And it is about hard work and team efforts and the inherent value of a job well done. We have been tested many times over the past year. The sun rose the morning after the historic November elections with no clear winner in sight, and to a nation in confusion. Controversies over gene therapy, labor rights and Penn's position in West Philadelphia have pushed our staffs to dig deeper into stories that weren't always popular but were always central to the mission of this University. Throughout, we have operated on the dual premises that the faculty, students and staff of the University have the right to know what is happening on campus and that such information should be presented without bias or judgment. At times we have failed. We promise that we've done our best and have appreciated your feedback, positive and negative, over the past 12 months. Our time here done, we leave this newspaper -- this institution -- in the hands of as capable and committed a slate of young journalists and businesspeople as we could have hoped. Good luck and godspeed to our friends on the 117th Board of Editors and Managers. We can only hope that one year from now, you feel the same sense of accomplishment and camaraderie that we do today. And to our readers, thank you for making our time in these windowless confines worthwhile. Never forget that this is your University, and that neither this school nor this newspaper can prosper absent your active involvement.

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