Just like that, another year came and went here at The Daily Campus. Over the last few months, we ate a ton of ice cream, watched another national championship game (boo Michigan) and saw Quavo perform at UCONNIC. Life had the pleasure of covering these events and more.
Every Sunday at 6 p.m., we gather at The Daily Campus building in downtown Storrs to pitch and take stories, answer silly icebreakers (like taking a “How Many Camels Am I Worth” quiz) and simply enjoy each other’s company. There is no place we would rather be than a good old Life meeting.
Photo by Emma Meidinger, Photo Editor/The Daily Campus.
Campus life at the University of Connecticut is incredibly unique, and somehow, also feels universal. From our school spirit to homemade ice cream all the way to our involvement with the arts, there is something for everyone to enjoy or take part in at UConn. This year, Life was there to highlight and capture it all. From event coverage to our newly emphasized features to media reviews (that sometimes go viral), there is also something for everyone in Life.
Shining a light on different clubs and organizations at UConn this year was something that our predecessors Dan Stark and Sam Brody worked into the paper more prominently. As writers, these features were some of the most enjoyable and rewarding pieces to write. Getting the chance to learn more about what UConn has to offer, and about the students and people behind the work that sometimes goes unnoticed here, and then sharing that information with the world aligns with how we view one of the best aspects of quality journalism — telling the stories of those who may not have a voice or platform to do so. Publishing features is something we are both incredibly excited to continue.
Thanks to our amazing Staff writers and contributors, we were able to publish features on local bands and musicians, the UConn Bananas, the UCONNIC DJs, the UConn Thrift Den and other organizations. Thank you to Kayden for making these features come to life on social media. We hope to keep collaborating with the social media section to visually display more features like Thaddeus Sawyer’s story on UConn’s Pep Band that provided a behind the scenes look at “The Huskies’ secret weapon.” That story captured the hearts and minds of many at UConn, as it became our most-liked Instagram post this year, with over 1,200 likes and counting.
As the future Life editors, we’d like to thank our outgoing editors, Dan and Sam, for leading such an exciting and fun section, and for all their bold new ideas and direction. Dan, we are so proud of you for entering your professional journalism career and wish you the best of luck. Sam, we congratulate you on becoming next year’s editor-in-chief at the DC and know you will do great things. We are looking forward to filling your shoes next year (or continuing to for me – Maleena) and promise that Life will keep showcasing our beautifully diverse student body and campus opportunities.
Photo by Nora Mariano, Staff Photographer/The Daily Campus
We appreciate all the hard work that our graduating seniors — Karla, Hayden, Dan, Gabby, Christina and Sarah — have done for the Life section and The Daily Campus. We’re glad that you decided to spend your time here with us, and we wish you the best after graduation!
We’d like to give a massive shoutout to all our staff writers, correspondents and contributors of the Life section. It is with the hard work of all our amazing writers that we can cover so many amazing events, clubs, shows and music. We hope to see all of you — and more — return to The Daily Campus building in the fall!
A round of applause is well deserved for the production team, from the copy editors, designers, digital producers, delivery drivers and the managing editor team. It’s with their hard work that our efforts come to fruition on the website and in print.
Life has its ups and downs, but we’re grateful that we went through it together this year with the Life section. As the semester reaches its conclusion, another one is ready and waiting to spring up right afterwards. We’re excited to lead Life next school year and implement some new ideas of our own. Check back in August for what we have in store or stop by if you want to have a good time.
Sincerely,
Ayyan and Maleena