By Shira Kramer, Editor-in-Chief
In preparation for each edition’s publication, I’ve read hundreds of articles before they went to print. Some were fascinating and tackled issues students care deeply about. Others, if I’m being honest, were harder for me to get through because they focused on topics outside of my interests. But even in those cases, every article mattered because it meant something to the student who wrote it.
A week ago, I edited Hayley Goldberg’s article reflecting on what comes after her time in the Stern College Dramatics Society. Reading it made me realize that while I was editing someone else’s ending, I was also quickly approaching my own. Truthfully, since getting married and contracting a serious case of senioritis, I haven’t spent much time thinking about my day-to-day life after graduation.
Even before I set foot in Midtown Manhattan, I knew I wanted to join the school newspaper. I wanted to find a smaller community within the larger Yeshiva University world, and I had a feeling I would find my people at the newspaper. When I saw a text from Emily Rose Goldberg on the “Stern in the Know” WhatsApp chat saying the YU Observer was looking for editors, I immediately messaged her. I had no idea that responding to that one text would shape the rest of my college experience.
That may sound dramatic, but it’s true. The things I have learned at the YU Observer have extended beyond anything I learned in any classroom. More importantly, the people that I have met here have changed my life and expanded my world in ways I never expected.
And now, just as the rigors of running a newspaper have finally become natural, it’s ending. I am grateful to have a bit of a break before I embark on my next journey into law school, but I am also scared for someone else to take over the work that I’ve finally mastered.
I don’t think this feeling is unique. As seniors, we often feel like we’ve finally “gotten it.” We know what we are doing at Stern just in time to not be doing it anymore.
If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank some of the people who have helped me along the way.
First, to Yitzy (“Aaron”) Shaykevich: thank you for taking a chance on a girl you barely knew with a big attitude. I came onto our Zoom meeting with a level of confidence that now makes me laugh, but Yitzy welcomed me anyway. He always entertained my crazy ideas, even if he didn’t approve all of them.
To my fellow editors, we have learned so much together. It’s been such a privilege getting to work alongside all of you. I hope that wherever life takes you, you continue to write because you are all very talented.
To my best friend who without the YU Observer, I never would have connected with (trust me, we needed the trauma bonding to push us together): Emily Rose Goldberg, I continue to learn from you every single day. Your work ethic and dedication are truly inspiring. Thank you for picking me as your managing editor last year and pushing me to grow ever since.
And to my partner in everything we do here, Esti DeAngelis: thank you for going along with every idea, scheme and announcement I’ve ever concocted. That is no small task. One day Esti will be the editor-in-chief of the largest newspaper in the world (likely with a heavy pro-Israel focus even though I’ve been told she is capable of writing about other things) and I will get to say “I knew her when.”
Part of growing up and moving on is realizing that you are not meant to hold every role forever. Eventually, the things you build, care for and dedicate yourself to may need to be passed on to someone else. It’s strange for me to think that one day the YU Observer will not be one of my most meaningful accomplishments. It has been such a central part of my life that stepping away feels like stepping away from a part of myself. But the truth is, no role is meant to define you forever. One day, the YU Observer won’t sit at the top of my resume or my LinkedIn profile — it will live alongside everything else that once defined a chapter of my life. And that is what makes it possible to let go: knowing it was never meant to belong to just one person.
I can’t tell you I’m not worried. I’ve been in control for so long that I’m not sure I know any other way. What I do know is that the paper will continue in the capable hands of new Editor-in-Chief Anouchka Ettedgui and Managing Editor Maya Menashe. The students’ voices will continue to be heard and the YU Observer will keep doing what it always has done. The names of the staff may change, but the voice of the students will always remain.
Sincerely, Editor-in-Chief Shira Kramer, signing off.
Photo Credit: Ashley Hefner