Staff-Ed: The Blue & Gray Press says goodbye to old staff, welcomes new staff

By THE BLUE & GRAY PRESS

This week’s issue marks the The Blue & Gray Press’ last issue of the semester. This week is bittersweet. We welcome in our new staff and start to implement some changes for next year. However, we also are saying goodbye to our outgoing staff.

This past year has been a tumultuous political climate on and off campus. With the election of Donald Trump and a rise of xenophobic attitudes on college campuses, the UMW community has found itself uniting together. The Blue & Gray Press has also had quite a bit of turmoil. This year we have held more focus on investigative stories, which has caused quite a bit of controversy. We’ve seen stories this year covering hate notes on campus, meal plans and Tim Brown. The Blue & Gray hopes to be just as diligent in reporting next year.

At the beginning of this year four new section editors came onto the staff. Most of them came into their roles unsure of their new positions, but the returning editors helped ease them into their sections. This made the operation very smooth when the new section editors were figuring out the voice of the paper and their places in the office. At the beginning of the year, the new editors coming in didn’t know any of the returning editors. As the year wore on, the staff turned from a group of strangers to a group of close friends.

We all looked forward to Wednesday nights for both the workload the weekly donuts and hanging out with each other. This year we are saying goodbye to four of our editors. They have put in several years into the Blue & Gray Press and helped shape it into what it is today. Our incoming editors have a tough act to follow, but we’re confident that they will do their jobs justice. 

Welcome:

Ginny Bixby | Viewpoints Editor

Ryan Brauch | Sports Editor

Lauren Closs | Life Editor

Es Hethcox | Online Editor

Meaghan McIntyre | News Editor

Goodbye:

Mikey Barnes | Sports Editor

Chris Markham | Editor in Chief

Alex Spence | Associate Editor

Ethan Tobin | Online Editor