Joining the* Review* as a Freshman was in many ways a poor decision on my part. The truth was that I had no experience with journalism and no desire to become a reporter. I had never competed on on a debate team and had no desire to trumpet my political views.
The truth is that if I had been familiar with campus publications as a Freshman, I would have joined the* Daily*. Had I known how much of my time at Stanford I would pour into the Review, I would never have walked into that first staff meeting. Had I even spoken with student groups at more couple booths at the fall activities fair, I would have probably joined some other group.
As chance would have it though, I was saved by my own ignorance and stumbled into one of the most vibrant organizations on campus.
To be sure, writing for the* Daily* can be an excellent opportunity as can dozens of other student groups. In fact I suspect there are activities on campus that are actually more fun than editing news reports at 3 in the morning. Writing can be arduous, investigation can be frustrating, and defending your beliefs can be daunting. If I had known all this, I would probably have concluded that The Review was not for me.
The truth is, it would be much easier to contribute to another student group. That may be an unorthodox admission in an editor’s note, but at the Review, we believe you should know the truth, regardless of how inconvenient or uncomfortable it may be.
But when we say that you should know the truth, that means you should know the rest of the story too. You should know the whole truth.
The truth that the best debates on campus happen at Review staff meetings. The truth that Review editors are more passionate about politics, society, and justice than any other group I’ve encountered. The truth that the Stanford Review publishes articles that are insightful and those that are defiant. That it champions tours de force and subtly thought provoking pieces. That it covers stories that others won’t and debates issues that others refuse to.
The truth that working for the Stanford Review has been my most intellectually and personally rewarding experience at Stanford.
This is my final issue as Editor-in-chief of the Stanford Review. For the first time in a long time, I will neither debate editors over which articles we should write nor will I edit every piece before it is published. Rest assured, however, that others will. With all due respect to past editorial teams, the incoming staff is without a doubt the best I have seen during my time on campus. They are already working on stories about public education, personal liberty, developing technology, and international trade, and on every issue, they will bring you the boldest insight and most rigorous thought that campus has to offer.
And that’s the truth.