By Max Sass, Editor-in-Chief
It’s fitting that my biggest regret after four years with The Chronicle derives from the very first thing I learned in a journalism class at Hofstra.
The spring of my freshman year, in Professor Fletcher’s Journalism 11 class we learned that the newspaper was the government’s watchdog.
The Chronicle is not the New York Times and we are not expected to watch over the folks down in D.C., but I promised my staff and myself when I was elected Editor-in-Chief that we would improve our coverage of SGA and truly become the (Hofstra) government’s watchdog.
Excuses about staff size are easy to throw around, but I truly regret that during my time in charge of this fine newspaper, we failed to be a check over Hofstra’s student government.
I will not call our coverage lazy, but I will not call it dogged either. I will call it fair and unbiased, but I will not call it in depth enough.
I can blame SGA’s inability to check itself internally, but truly the problem was that I, as Editor-in-Chief, did not hold my staff and myself responsible enough for keeping tabs on SGA.
Days upon days can be spent arguing whether SGA’s model is flawed, but what I could have controlled was The Chronicle and in that I failed.
I ask and challenge Joe Pantorno, The Chronicle’s next Editor-in-Chief, and all those who follow him, to do what I did not. Be the government’s watchdog. Take them to task for what they do. Hold them responsible for their actions. Inform the students and allow them to make decisions.
Most of all, to the future staff: Do not let government go so unchecked by our newspaper that desperation efforts well into the night are the only option to stop a process someone is unhappy with.
Having said all of that, and despite leaving my role without having achieved everything I hoped to, my experience at The Chronicle has been amazing. The people, the office, the time spent. It’s all something I would never trade away.
I owe many, many thanks to Professors Peter Goodman and Daniel van Benthuysen in their roles as official and unofficial advisors to The Chronicle. They also have done a service to me, taking time to guide me in my growth as both a leader and a journalist. Plus their advice has kept us out of the courtroom.
Many thanks as well to my other journalism professors, including Professors Fletcher, Zook, Graber, Kussin, Jeansonne, Stuart and any others I have forgotten at this late hour.
Thank you to the wonderful folks in the athletics department, especially those in the Sports Information department who have been incredibly helpful and patient with my requests.
I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my current colleagues at The Chronicle and those who have guided me to this point including Sean M. Gates, Ryan Broderick, David Gordon and many others.
My parents, family and friends for supporting me in this incredibly time consuming endeavor and Glen and Charlie for putting up with my shenanigans and whatever part of their workspace I made a mess of.
To the Chronicle: Thank you for everything you have done for me. To the future of The Chronicle: finish what I was unable to.
