By Mikki Treitel, Features Editor
I’m new here. While the Observer features a mostly recurring cast of editors, it’s my first time on the staff, and as a rising sophomore, I’m new to YU as a whole. I began last year as a true freshman eager to get involved in the campus and community I’d heard so much about, but at a school as big and broad as YU, I struggled to find a space.
With all of YU being a great collegiate abyss before me, the perpetual influx of sstud emails proved to be equal parts explosive and invaluable. While many were extraneous and oftentimes redundant, some were informative gems. Sstuds led me to the Poetry Club and the Stern College Dramatics Society, and to more obscure, but nonetheless, crucial corners of YU’s extracurricular scene, like the Duck Scouts and the Lefties Club.
One particular email informed me that a newspaper called the Observer had gone to press. I clicked on the link for a taste of reading and writing outside of my English Composition class. Half expecting to be met with typical news articles and opinion pieces, I was pleasantly surprised to find pieces about the local sushi scene, good books, and interesting people — stories by students reporting with excitement and edge. I was introduced to strong opinions on matters ranging from the playful to the polemic, and I was impressed to see writers taking stands and sharing their truths, each with their own unique style and flavor.
Reading the Observer left me with a keener sense of campus culture and an inspiration to maximize my opportunities in and around YU. The paper took me from a curious newcomer to an informed and involved member of the YU community. This year as a Features editor, I am thrilled to take part in a platform that allows students to access and maximize their surroundings. I look forward to seeing how the Observer continues to enrich the experiences of myself and others at YU with bold color and texture.
To those reading our paper for the first time and to the seasoned YU veterans: this is your paper. Your place to know and be known. As I begin my sophomore year, I remember that I’ve still got lots of time left at YU, and as a proud member of the Observer team, I know I have the tools to make the most of it.
Photo: Mikki Treitel