Farewell from the 121st board

T oday, The Daily Pennsylvanian closes the book on its 121st year of publication. The names listed above of editors and managers will disappear after this edition to be replaced by a new and highly talented group who will shape and mold the paper in its 122nd year.

What will not be replaced in this transition, however, is the newspaper's deeply rooted commitment to providing the Penn community with the most complete and accurate news report possible.

Over the past 135 issues, that has been our mission, and we hope you agree that the paper you pick up each day is better than that of a day before.

Constant evolution and improvement is the lifeblood of the journalism business, and you can expect the next crop of editors and managers to keep making new strides. Over the years, the DP has been perennially recognized as one of the top collegiate newspapers in the country. We do not take this some sort of reward, but rather as a challenge to ensure we live up to the expectations that reputation entails.

Hundreds of students have spent countless hours in cramped quarters to produce the DP you hold in your hands. And as the old regime steps aside, we would like to thank each of those individuals for their dedication.

It has been quite a ride.

The past year has seen its share of high notes -- an Ivy League basketball title, a number of exciting new construction projects were finished and several others begun both on campus and across the city, Penn welcomed an energetic new provost and the University received more evidence of its rising status in higher education with a spike in applications, to name a few.

It also saw its share of tragedies, both within this community and across the globe.

Each day, it has been our charge to bring you information about our ever-changing world in a fair, unbiased and professional manner. Expect that to continue in the coming year as new challenges and opportunities confront Penn, Philadelphia and the world.

There have been, and always will be, bumps in the road, and we are humbled when you point them out to us. But you, the reader, are our most important asset, and serving you to the best of our abilities is of paramount importance.

As the new leadership begins its term with Tuesday's edition, we hope that you will continue to be active in the discussions that take place on this campus and in this newspaper. The new editorial board is ready and able to take over as the voice of Penn's campus.

We would like to think we are leaving the newspaper better than how we found it. We hope the incoming board will be thinking the same thing one year from now.

We wish you the best of luck.

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