Photo courtesy of Jacob Lewis.

In Douglas Adams’ novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” omnidimensional beings built Deep Thought, a supercomputer, to figure out the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. Deep Thought spent seven and a half million years calculating the answer, which turned out to be 42. At the end of a long wait, these beings were quite disappointed in the seemingly meaningless answer they received.  

 “I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you’ve never actually known what the question is,” Deep Thought said. “Once you do know what the question actually is, you’ll know what the answer means.”  

 Hofstra is a place where quite a lot of answers buzz around, and it’s often difficult to hear its poorly-worded questions over the noise. Fortunately, the Chronicle office is a pretty quiet place.  

 I’ve asked questions during my time with The Chronicle. Amid the pleasant sounds of punny headlines, witty banter – and yes, even the occasional aerial potato – exchanged on layout nights, we’ve also asked a lot of good questions as a section. We’ve asked the who, what, when, where, why and how about any number of events. From Netherlands residents finding mice in their dorms, to Hofstra sports teams practicing with no masks on, to a professor filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, our section has asked all of the right questions. 

 Our News section has kept this school in check since 1935. Since then, Hofstra has gone from a small extension of NYU with 150 students to a medium-sized university with a $637.1 million endowment. Far more than covering events, we investigate real, impactful stories and serve as an irreplaceable voice for thousands of students and faculty. The importance of our duties as a section has grown with the University, and we will continue to pass the torch down to future students. 

 As we dive deeper into the digital age and stray further away from print media, we must remember to look up every now and then and tune into the world around us. As the sand in the world’s carbon hourglass slowly trickles out, we must continue to boldly raise our voices, never accepting nonsensical answers. Our role as journalists is to understand and ask. Now, more than ever, we must press on with that mission. 

 To The Hofstra Chronicle, thank you for giving this News section room to think outside the din. To e-board members I’ve served with – both past and present – thank you for sharing your questions with me and inspiring me to ask a lot of my own. And to my News team, thank you for always bringing good ideas and good vibes to the table. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to work with.  

 Never stop questioning. And if you ever want to run anything by me, feel free to call the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. I’ll be there.