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Hayes’d and Confused, one last time

There’s a certain note of finality to any piece of writing I’ve produced for the Gazette over the years. Once it heads off to the printer, the words I put down on the page aren’t going to change, no matter how much I may wish to have another crack at it.

So it’s with a certain amount of consternation that I approach this, the last “Hayes’d and Confused” I’ll ever write for the Gazette. Though I’ve covered a variety of issues over the years — from salvia divinorum to etiquette among Canadian political parties — having to provide an epitaph has proven to be the most difficult.

Traditionally, these last–issue columns are offered to the paper’s Front Office to give them one last kick at the can. Some choose to write shout–outs to those who made their year extra special, others attempt to pass on information to future generations of Gazetters.

I’m also positive these columns have never in any way been used as a way to fill space at a time of year when many section editors are concerned with final papers and exams.

So where to start? I began at the paper as a volunteer in my first year at Western, back in ‘06/’07. I saw the effects of the Spoof Issue of that year and watched as the paper emerged from the ashes the next year stronger than ever — if perhaps with a less cavalier attitude. And while other volumes may not have seen as dramatic a change from year–to–year, each volume of the paper has been as unique as the individuals who wrote them.

It’s both the most exciting and depressing part of the Gazette. Though every year provides new and exciting opportunities, we also lose unique and talented individuals at the end of every year.

It’s something symptomatic of the university system. We forget that with most students in school for four years, it only takes two years for half the students to be unaware of an event. You may be able to look to the student newspaper to provide context to current events, but we’re prone to exactly the same problems.

Sure, we attempt to circumvent this problem by writing reports spanning the entire year, but they’re a poor substitute for an actual person who can answer questions and interact with you.

But maybe things are better that way. Sometimes it’s better to not have to face a situation without someone telling you it was tried before and didn’t work — having freedom to make mistakes is oftentimes the most important mechanism for learning.

So to look ahead to the future generations who may read the words I’ve written — highly unlikely, considering the amount of dust our back issues are currently gathering in the office — I’d say make mistakes. Learn from them, but also revel in them.

If everyone loves you or everyone hates you, you’re doing something wrong. But if there’s a group of readers willing to storm the office and another group of equal size willing to stand in front of them, chances are you’re doing something right.

The Gazette should always be looking for the uncomfortable news stories. But we also shouldn’t be afraid to have fun. Unfortunately, with an increasing blur between campus newspapers and smaller–focus local papers, the irreverence of yore may be relegated to the dustbin of history.

But for someone who was given the blessing by his boss to try to do The Spoke’s Around the World of Beer Tour in one day, I hope the Gazette still retains a little bit of cheekiness far into the future. After all, a sense of humour is a terrible thing to waste.

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