As the last issue of The Saint Anselm Crier for the 2020-

2021 academic year, it only seems right to make a final address concerning my time as the editor-in-chief. With the weather warming, final exams and commencement looming, the Class of 2021 inches closer and closer to our final days on the Hilltop. But if there is one thing that I can leave the Saint Anselm College community with, it is this:

For the last two years I have been the editor-in-chief of The Saint Anselm Crier. Some people have asked questions of “well why would you want to do that?”, “isn’t that a lot of work?”, or even “that sounds so boring”. While I have been presented with a number of challenges during my time at The Crier, this position has given my time at Saint Anselm College far more meaning than I ever thought possible. There were obviously times of stress, or late nights working on an issue that pushed me to my limits, but looking back on these two years I would not change a thing.

Let me start by saying, releasing something for a public audience is never easy. It takes courage to put any piece of writing on a public platform that is likely going to be subject to criticism, especially within the field of journalism today. However, the rewards of having your voice heard and upholding the values of journalism that any form of media is founded on are unparalleled.

My principal interest in this field comes from a sense of responsibility, to do my part in ensuring the community has a reliable source for relevant and important news. To that end, the function of our newspaper is to give students a voice to express concerns, affirmations and even grievances in an inclusive atmosphere. Similarly, discourse is encouraged. Without discourse and disagreements, progress is impossible. Our hope continues to be to foster an environment that encourages a variety of perspectives for the sake of progress.

These aspirations do not come without challenges though. While upholding our journalistic integrity and values are of special importance, we must also consider the community we serve and the Benedictine values Saint Anselm College is founded on. With respect to all of these moving parts, our work is done to the best of our abilities in service of our readers.

These experiences have taught me not only how important news is, but how important the character of the reporter is. One must be able to develop resilience, compassion and a sense of a greater purpose that is rare to find in other careers. There is no way that any journalist can please every reader, but to have faith in one’s work and know that it is done to the best of the reporter’s ability is the key to success.

This position allowed me to grow not only in my writing abilities, but also in my knowledge of this community that I have called home for the past four years. I am eternally grateful for all of the opportunities and support given to The Crier during my time, and I truly am honored to have served for two years in this position.

While my time on the Hilltop has come to an end, my experiences here have shown me the graduates of Saint Anselm College are destined for great things. I wish the future editors of The Crier the best of luck, they have my absolute faith to carry on the legacy and integrity of our historic student newspaper.

See you all soon.

Sincerely yours,

Alex Dooley

Class of 2021