Notes from Senior Editors

Addie Maxwell
Opinion Editor

I’ve always thought its funny how I’m the opinion section editor. I always say I have no opinions on anything, except apparently drinking, because I’ve written about it several times. In high school I was voted Most Laid Back, I’m an uninformed optimist, so why the heck did they give me this gig?

Q baby with Q Barbie (Photo: The Quindecim)

What I quickly realized was that I didn’t have to write about the government or go on angry rants about the environment to run this section.  While these sorts of things are important and have found a place in my section, opinions can also be about our own, everyday lives.  During my tenure, this is the tone the opinion section has taken.  One of my favorite pieces I wrote was in those first issues.  I wrote about turning twenty-one, an experience all college students share.

I’d like to think that what I choose to write about connects with where the collective “us” is in our lives, that someone finishes my article, nods their head, and says “yeah man, that connects with me.”  I’ve been fortunate enough to, on a few occasions, have those people reach out to me.  The number of times I could probably count on one hand, but in a community that apparently “doesn’t read The Q,” it feels big.

As an editor, I’ve helped facilitate this experience for others.  My writers have had their articles shared in classes, and they’ve received emails from administrators wanting their help editing policies.  I am proud that my section has given students the voice they need and deserve.

As an athlete, this is the kind of work I want to be a part of.  This is why I sit in the office, writing what’s in my soul at four in the morning (it always feels far more profound at that hour).  Because, this matters to the people around me.  If I was writing a paper for class I would go to bed, but when the rush of the team effort, of your words in print, of the possibility of connecting with someone you don’t even know is out there, how can you not write?  It is immediate gratification at its most intellectual, and I hope I’ll be doing it for a long while.

History of Goucher: Goucher Sings

Sean Varner
Features Editor

Recently I came across a video of Elton John. He’s doing a question-and-answer session onstage, when someone challenges him to compose, on the spot, a song to suit the words of a toaster oven instruction manual. John agrees, the challenger hands over the manual, John goes to his piano, and not-a-bad song ensues.

“Amazing,” I said, probably to myself, since browsing the Internet tends to be a solitary activity. 

How To: Pop An Eye Back In

Molly Wallner
Staff Writer

This week’s article is going to take on a bit of a different tone, as I am putting on my doctor’s cap in hopes to give you some advice regarding a medical mishap whose possibility haunts me every day of my life. 

How To: Eat Froyo

Molly Wallner
Staff Writer

Welcome back! I hope that many fulfilling hugs have come your way since our last issue was released. As for me, I have been a hugging machine; I’m surprised my arms haven’t fallen off! Over the weekend I discovered yet another appropriate context for hugging: when getting frozen yogurt. Unfortunately, this is all too often a hug given to comfort rather than congratulate. It seems people just aren’t sure how to go about eating frozen yogurt anymore, and the result is a tummy-aching waste of two to five dollars. This just will not do, and I won’t have it. That is why this week’s article is: how to make the most of your froyo experience.

Goucher Eats: Cafe Culture

Kathryn Walker
Staff Writer

The first day I arrived in Paris, a hot sticky scorcher in August six-and-a-half months ago, one of the first words of advice given to me was, “Find your cafe.  Go there, drink coffee, read “Le Monde”, savor everything around you.”  And of course, I went off and decided that cheese was more important and found my fromagerie instead, thinking at the time that coffee was disgusting and cheese was more life sustaining.