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Friday, March 29, 2024
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Goodbye, and here’s to you, faithful readers

At a Student Senate meeting I was covering for the Alligator a few semesters ago, a student journalist went rogue. He was covering his last meeting for the Gainesville Sun and decided to break one of the most important rules of journalism — he gave his opinion.

During public debate, he stood behind the lectern and told everyone what he really thought of Student Government. He said he hated all the senators and that he wasted hours listening to them argue about petty and trivial things.

When I went back to the Alligator office that night, I asked my editors when I would be able to give my true feelings about SG. And they said in my goodbye column.

So I patiently waited for the time when I could unleash the semesters of pent-up emotion and frustration I had from covering SG.

But now that the time is here, I decided not to — much to your dismay, I’m sure.

Instead, I will be talking about the labor of love that caused me so much grief in the first place: the Alligator.

During my tenure at the paper, I have witnessed newspapers being thrown away, the almost-removal of several Alligator racks from campus, four SG elections and some great pieces of journalism. Like my colleagues, I have been yelled at by sources, berated by readers and lost precious hours of sleep because I was slaving away countless hours at the office.

But as readers, you don’t see that. You don’t see the process that goes into making the paper. You see the final product.

You pick up an Alligator every day and see a story that might interest or intrigue you. Some see a liberal rag that should be lit on fire. Others see errors that need correcting. Whatever you see, I guarantee you don’t see the blood, sweat and tears that are put into the paper each day. Because my colleagues and I do put our blood, sweat and tears into making this paper.

This column, for example, has been read and edited by at least seven people before it went to print. Not to mention the few hours it took me to write it.

So why do I do it? Why do I spend eight hours a night working in a building that has flickering lights, semi-broken furniture and extremely fickle air conditioning?

Because of you: the reader.

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Yes, the Alligator looks great on my resume. And yes, I have gotten some great stories published. But what is a story if no one will read it?

Every story the Alligator puts on its pages is one it thinks you, the readers, should know about. At times, you don’t agree. And that’s OK.

But please don’t insult the content inside its pages. Having someone read something you wrote is terrifying. I had two stories published this semester, and each night before they went to print, I worried they were filled with errors. As a writer, it’s the worst feeling to have someone insult something you spent days perfecting.

But for those of you out there who read the Alligator and appreciate the time we spend creating content for you, I want to thank you. And for those of you who take the time to send feedback — whether good or bad — I want to thank you, too.

You are the reason I work every night to make deadline. Well, you and the bleak paycheck I get every two weeks.

Samantha Shavell is the Alligator’s print managing editor. A version of this column ran on page 6 on 12/4/2013 under the headline "Goodbye, and here’s to you, faithful readers"

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