Editorial #285

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate, especially my American compatriots. Even if you don’t partake in this particular tradition, please stick with

my festive spirit here as I express my gratefulness for all things St Andrews — primarily The Saint.

My experience at The Saint has completely changed my time in St Andrews. It has been such a wonderful community of friends, colleagues, and mentors that has changed how I view teamwork and hard work. This issue marks the last issue of David and I’s first semester as Editor-in-Chief of this publication (don’t get too sad; we’ll see you again in the spring), and it has been quite the semester for both of us. Besides teaching all our editors Adobe InDesign, ironing out exactly when to put quotation marks, and rinsing our writers dry for the best articles possible, it’s also been a busy personal time. I became an (academic) mother and mastered the art of a pot of soup. David saw Kylie Monague live and hosted a Studio 51 21st birthday. Between deadlines to printers, deadlines to tutors, and squeezing in time to sleep and reset, we have both found it difficult to set boundaries and make time for ourselves in the chaos.

The only thing that has made our survival possible and made us want to do this all again next semester is our team. Every day, I am grateful for our talented writers

and staff members. Every person who contributes to this paper is so unique and exciting and passionate, and what we do for this paper, we do for them. Saint Socials are a joy because we know everyone there will have opinions, stories, and new and interesting perspectives. Our writers are witty and intelligent, dedicated to journalism and their articles. This semester’s content has been among The Saint’s best. They asked new questions, explored new ideas, wrote about new topics, and started new columns. Even when it is hard, I always want our articles to start necessary conversations. As someone who has lost a close family member during

this time of the year, I am so thankful for writers like Natasha Currie and her Serial Griever column.

If you ever have the pleasure of meeting our editorial board and committee members, you will find passionate and driven individuals who make David and I look forward to our pitch and review meetings. Besides being advocates for their writers, David and I have found great friends who love what they do, and we are honoured to do it with them. Ilaria and Hannah are two big reasons this humble paper makes it to your hands. Every other Monday, the four of us spend about fourteen hours together (give or take a break for lunch or lectures) in The Saint’s office. The Saint office is not where dreams go to live. It is a small and cramped room in the back of the Union. It is windowless, a weird sound comes from the ceiling, and I’m pretty confident there are no vents for airflow or oxygen. Something goes wrong every week — we lose access to the Viewpoint layout, we have to cut an article, all the images go missing. It is hard work, and Ilaria and Hannah do not get enough credit. David and I are so thankful for them. They make the time pass less painfully with great conversation and are willing to do anything to help. I feel so lucky to have them on my Executive Team and am grateful to call them my friends.

Financially, our paper has breathed again because of our strong and dedicated business team and Business Manager, Pietro. Their creative solutions and answers to problems have brought much-needed life to The Saint and The Saint as a business. And, of course, I am only done once I mention dear David. Getting to work in this position with him has been a great honour. Running the paper is not easy, and we both had reservations before committing to the role. He is truly the only person with whom I can do this. His tireless dedication to “Anything for The Saint” and his patience with my frantic texts at all hours is outstanding. He is responsible for keeping our paper on track, making everything we do fun, and supporting my crazy ideas. Thank you to David, most of all, for being my Co-Editor-in-Chief.

I hope you enjoy this issue and all the hardworking individuals who made it possible. Good luck with your deadlines, good luck with the cold, and have a wonderful holiday season. We are thankful for you. Happy reading. Riley