The end of the semester has come and we couldn’t send you off without saying how grateful we are for each and every one of you. Sometimes we get a little caught up in making the paper and we forget to say how thankful we are for the people who came before us and taught us everything that they know. From how to calm down when In-design just exists, to how to handle angry emails “sent from my iPhone,” you were there to hold our hands and get us to laugh about it somehow too. The paper is a love-hate relationship most of the time, and it is the people who are there that make it worth staying. 

So to our Editors-in-Chiefs, Editors and friends here are your send-offs. 

Victoria Morrongiello 

I’ve never been short of having sisters, I was lucky to grow up with three. Being away from them can be really difficult so I’m grateful to have Sasha and Emma who act like my sisters. 

Emma, thank you for bringing the OL energy to the Hoot room when it starts getting low towards 11 p.m. Nothing beats when the paper is nearly done on Thursday nights and you’re blasting Taylor Swift so we can just mess around. Thank you for encouraging my book addiction as well, and for reading some of my recs so we can rant about them. 

Sasha, brother, where do I begin? We fight like sisters, unfiltered and brutally honest, but no fight has ever come between us. You took me under your wing and helped me become more confident in myself as a writer and editor. Thank you for encouraging me to write less and worry less, I know I don’t listen but it means more than you know. I’ll take good care of Jackie next year. 

You guys better not move too far away, I hope we make you proud next year! (Except you John. Not you. Walnut.) 

Mia Plante

I started my Hoot career pretty late in my time at Brandeis but I’ve never felt isolated. The Hoot is my home, thanks to the seniors especially!

To Caroline and Stewart, you guys are so put together it was inspiring to me. Although I will never get to your level of organization, and I will never do the editing thing you guys do (I’m way too harsh), you have given me a great example to never live up to. Caroline specifically, thanks for answering my questions about law school stuff, you’re going to do amazing in law school!

To Grace, you are so stunning inside and out. I don’t know you very well, but I don’t think I need to in order to know this. You are so kind and friendly, I have absolutely loved seeing you around this past semester. You always happen to brighten my day somehow by just saying “hi”. Also, thank you for being perfect near me. 

To the EICs, you guys are insane and kinda messy but it made The Hoot more fun for me sometimes! To Emma, I appreciate your understanding of hot girl stomach issues and your easy going bubbly personality. It makes entering The Hoot that much more welcoming. To John, you are like Hoot Dad, always saying weird stuff but also always smiling and laughing. Perfect vibes all around. Also, I love how you are friendly with my roommate, it’s adorable and also that’s how I learned about taking the MCAT in a diaper. To Sasha, thank you for being the picture of hard work this year. The amount of time that you put into The Hoot is clear, and your work does not go unnoticed and unappreciated. It’s wonderful knowing that my OPs grandmother is also terrifying, I will ensure that any other OPs ladies that join our lineage are wonderfully scary too <3 

Thank you all for being such a great break from my academics. I always feel like I’m learning something at our meetings, but it’s also always so much fun. 

Cooper Gottfried

I’ve only been at The Hoot for a short time, but all of you made me feel immediately like a part of something special. When I went to that first production night in the library, I knew this was a group of people that I wanted to spend time with. That feeling came in large part from your leadership.

Sasha, thank you for my favorite pair of socks and a scarf that I’ll never figure out how to properly wear. John, thank you for helping me popularize the name “Coopie.” Emma, bestie, thank you for showing me that I don’t have the worst music taste at The Hoot. To all of the seniors, thank you for helping make my first year at Brandeis so amazing and thank you for welcoming me into The Hoot family with open arms. I hope you all have an amazing time with what you pursue after graduation, and I know you’ll all be successful in whatever you choose.

Thomas Pickering

I’ve never been good at goodbyes. Heck, I hardly know how to process them sometimes if I am being honest with myself. As a child I always broke down into tears when family would leave and even in high school when the class above me graduated I never got over it. I always felt as if I was waiting for them to turn the corner and rejoin all the activities I did with them. I idolized them, worked hard to prove myself to them and felt like they were family. This is no different. 

To Emma, John and especially Sasha. I never knew what I was getting into when it came to The Hoot. I was expecting it to be some club I tried out for a little while and then never came back to, but instead, I found a family from it. You all have given me so much when it comes to friendship, advice and laughs in the BMC. You have nourished my growth and honestly made me the man I am today (for better or worse) and I will always be grateful. I dread being an ocean away and not being able to tell you all in person but I will always look up to you all. I will always strive to make you guys proud no matter where you end up or how far you go from Waltham. You all made me feel like a part of this family and just know that it will always be there for you guys and your future endeavors. 

To Sasha, you will always be my Hoot mom and for that I am forever in your debt. From long facetime calls to sending me skeleton gifs to disliking certain IR professors we have been through a lot together. You are the kind of person I want to be as I continue to grow as an individual. Your passion, dedication, upfrontness and charisma are all things I look up to and wherever we are I want you to know that I will always be there for you and always striving to make you proud. I only wish I was there to tell you in-person, but until then–I will always be your child and I will always be your most loyal OPs writer.

Justin Leung

Even though I have been with The Hoot for a while, this year was really the year that I got to properly get to know all of you. At first I had no idea what I was doing but you all were very helpful in terms of learning how to be a better editor and just being acclimated in The Hoot environment. 

John, I still can’t believe your favorite meal is breakfast and there is no way I will ever forget it. But I also won’t forget all those times you helped me out with layout in the fall when I pretty much had no idea what I was doing. Stewart, I have no idea how, but you always got the faster computer. Sometimes even then I would finish layout faster. Most of that was because you helped clarify all the small things, and for that I thank you. Emma, my friend that I met three times. Even though your sports knowledge may be a little lacking, you will forever be my sports buddy because you stayed around in sports journalism. Sasha, you almost single handedly kept the sports section afloat for the past year. I think my favorite part about all of that was how you actually made an attempt to learn the sports. The sports section will for sure miss you and that’s not just because you write a third of the articles. 

Rachel Rosenfield

I haven’t been with the Hoot for that long, but I knew my time here would be special as soon as I started writing. I have loved getting to know all of the seniors of the paper and I am going to miss you guys so much next year. Our paper will not be the same without you guys and I wish the best for all of you.

Emma you have been so fun to be around and I have loved getting to know you. You are an awesome TA for my journalism class and I’m not just saying that because I’m nervous about my final project and I want to be on your good side, lol. I can’t wait for you to take the journalism world by storm. Sasha, you are the glue holding this paper together. You are an excellent leader and I love reading your wide variety of articles. I wish we got to talk more, but you’re awesome. John, you’ve always seemed like a chill dude and you’re an underrated member of the EICs. You’re a talented writer and a nice guy, keep it up. And I can’t forget my arts editors, Caroline and Stewart. They took me under their wing and helped me be the arts dep that I am today. Without their edits, my articles would just be a bunch of random words in a crazy stream of thought. They helped me figure out layout, writing, and sending out emails. I’m gonna miss them next year and the arts section will not be the same. I know you guys both have great futures ahead. To all of the senior staff and editors on the Hoot, you were all awesome journalists and made the Hoot what it is today. You all worked hard and we all looked up to you. Good luck next year! Socially distanced hugs and kisses to you all!!

Roshni Ray 

Where did the seniors find the audacity to graduate and leave us behind after this incredible year working together? 🙂

I’m going to miss each and every one of you so much! You guys made Production Night such a fun, goofy, special place to be each Thursday night. I’m so grateful to you all in helping me navigate the process of producing a 16+ page newspaper each week. I’ve learned so much from you and I can’t wait to see where the future takes all of you. Hoot hoot, toot toot, and off you go! <3

Maddie Rousell

It feels like just yesterday that I was attending my first prod night as a freshman, not knowing anyone on The Hoot (but that girl with all the stickers on her laptop looked friendly!). Two and a half years later and my time at Brandeis wouldn’t be complete without The Hoot, which wouldn’t be what it is without the graduating seniors, including our wonderful 3ICs, Emma, John and Sasha. 

You all have made the hard times fun, like when we had to do prod night in the library for the first few weeks of this year, or when Sasha made learning fun by handing out copy editing quizzes, which were really a nice way of saying “please save Maddie from fixing all your numbers and apostrophes.” Emma, I’m going to miss having another Swiftie around, and will miss you ruining my life by recommending me shows through Arts articles that eventually get canceled. And somehow, I feel like I’m going to be the John of next year’s 3ICs: the chill one.

A huge thank you and congratulations to all our other graduating seniors, I will miss your faces each Sunday and Thursday in the BMC and your misguided beliefs that your sections are the best (you’re all wrong, by the way, copy editing has been holding the paper together for years). I wish you all the best of luck in the future, and know you will always have a home here at The Hoot.