The Student News Site of Utica University

The Tangerine

The Student News Site of Utica University

The Tangerine

The Student News Site of Utica University

The Tangerine

Another decade of the Tangerine in the books

Another+decade+of+the+Tangerine+in+the+books

Bidding farewell to the 2010’s, the decade of the lockdown, the new president, the tuition reset, the racial incidents, the “Gangerine” and the dome collapse

Maria Montero Silva, Editor-in-Chief

For those who have ever ventured to Hubbard Hall’s bowels, and after a long quest, they will find the Tangerine office, our cave, where “our precious” newspaper is forged. 

One of the first elements that folks will probably notice once they set foot in there is the lists of names that stare at you from the walls. The first list reads Fall 1946 and the last one, Spring 2019. That is the almost 75-year history of the Tangerine, a reminder of the heavy and honorable duty that our reporters and myself carry with gratitude on our shoulders day after day.

Interestingly, the first name of the first list is Joe Markason, Co-Editor of the Tangerine in 1946, when UC had just been born to offer education for veterans. Last week, the living legend paid a visit to the current Tangerine management staff,  and said the most rewarding words that anyone could hear from one of the guys who started it all, “I am proud of your work.”

As we put out the last issue of the semester and, interestingly, the last issue of the decade, it seems imperative to look back at what we have accomplished — the good and the bad— but also at what is yet to be done. 

The Tangerine has come a long way in its seven decades of reporting about the most important campus news, as well as telling real and personal stories about the individuals and the community that make UC special. Many events and incidents have defined the decade of the 2010’s, shaping the college experience of hundreds, if not thousands, of Pioneers. 

The 2010’s have clearly been the decade of the new emerging technologies that just seem to be everywhere. UC’s website was updated, new security systems were implemented, peace in the classroom was disrupted by cell phones and the Internet flooded us with an inexhaustible flow of information and, too often, misinformation and hatred. 

Sometimes, toxic values have directly threatened the open and welcoming community that we all work hard to create at UC. We always talk with big words and state our desire to establish a peaceful environment on campus. However, it is the small things that matter. It is the every-day behaviors, actions, words, nicknames, adjectives and pronouns that we decide to use; the ones that create boundaries instead of bridges, chains instead of wings. 

UC is so much more than racist incidents, segregation, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and, essentially, division. We claim that we are willing to talk but are we really willing to listen? I can only hope that 10 years from now, those are not the issues that future UC members find on campus.

I would run out of print space if I were to list all of the events that the UC community has witnessed over the past 10 years — my layout editor would also give me a death stare if I attempted to do that. However, one thing that I could do is try to explain that behind the lockdown, the new president, the tuition reset, the racial incidents and the dome collapse, the Tangerine has done its best to be there and share the news with the rest of the community. As for the “Gangerine,” we promise to look at that with the commitment that it will not happen again.

Bad and good, however, all of those memories will last forever. And that should be another reminder of how Every. Action. Matters. Every decision, thought or conversation that occupy our days when we think every hour is as meaningless as a plastic straw — which the UC campus is a big fan of — matters. Everyone individual and every voice matters.

Those actions and decisions will someday become a small part of our memory that we will remember with nostalgia, just like Markason remembered when a group of young veterans got together and founded the newspaper that they thought the college “ought to have.”

This editorial is also an attempt to reflect on this semester that is coming to an end. It marked a fresh beginning for the Tangerine, as new faces came to occupy the new list that someday will be on the walls of that tiny closet without windows. 

There was a lot of pressure to live up to everybody’s expectations when I took over as Editor-in-Chief. Not only did I feel that pressure as a woman, but also as an international student whose third language is English and who, like many others, came to this country alone. I felt the need and the instinct to put all my commitment, professionalism and respect towards this craft on every single word that was put out there under the Tangerine’s name. On my end, I enjoyed every single moment I got to fulfill this position and I am forever grateful to the people who believed in me. I can only hope those expectations were at least satisfied and that we all keep improving next semester. 

As cliché as everybody makes it sound, this would not have been possible without the incredible team that works very hard to make the Tangerine a weekly reality for UC. Behind every story, picture and quote, there is the tireless work of a team of more than 20 people who have not missed a day since they started. A group of individuals who have complicated lives, too, but who decide to be there week after week to keep the campus informed and serve the most basic Constitutional ideals. 

So you may want to think it twice when you decide to use a Tangerine issue as wrapping paper for your Christmas gifts this holiday season.

With that, we can only wish for the best and be prepared for the worst. But we hope the good times will outweigh the bitter ones and that all of those will serve as lessons for healthy and fulfilling lives. 

On behalf of the Tangerine staff and myself, we wish you all happy holidays and a happy new decade!

 

Thank you Mary, Kyle, Mackenzie, Kaitlyn, Debra, Nick, Gianna, Grace, Francis T., Emmalyn, Dan, Mike, Chris, Kyra, Jasmine, Victoria, Francis B., John, Celeste, Derek, Mark, and finally, Laura, Kim and Professor Chanatry for this great semester of learning.

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