It often seems that whenever we reach the end of an epoch, we find ourselves looking back at the beginning.

As graduation day approaches, we find ourselves looking back on when we were freshmen, frantically pulling the campus maps up on our phones to find Frey Hall, or falling asleep in our First-Year Seminar class. We look back on when we made our very first friend at college and felt that euphoric relief when we knew we weren’t going to spend the next four years alone.

We look back on the stories that we made.

We look at the people we met and the things we saw and the mistakes we made. We look back on our clubs and our classes and the experiences Stony Brook University has given us, and we ask ourselves: Was it all worth it?

As the graduating editors of The Statesman, we can say with great confidence that it was. Stony Brook has taught us more than just how to be good journalists. It has given us memories that we will take with us for the rest of our lives.

We will never forget when students flooded the Staller Steps for the 2013 Mac Miller concert, or when a house’s deck completely collapsed at one of Alpha Epsilon Pi’s parties in 2016. We will never forget the opportunity to cover incredible artists like Childish Gambino, Diplo, Future, Walk the Moon and DNCE. We will remember every Ladies Night at The Bench, every beautiful day spent on the Staller Steps, every “out of an abundance of caution” text that made us jump for joy.

We will also remember the heavier moments. Every vigil that was held for a lost friend or protest against continuing injustice will remain with us forever. We will never forget the March For Unity, when more than 500 students came together in reaction to President Trump’s travel ban, or the Black Lives Matter protests across campus. These are the moments of solidarity that showed us how strong our Stony Brook community is and will always be.

It has been an honor to cover and report every one of these moments. There is a great deal of confidence placed in student journalists, for we are trusted with representing the many voices of this university. For all of us at The Statesman, it has been a true privilege to report on the many facets of this university.

Thank you for four amazing years. Thank you for sharing your stories with us.

Sincerely,

Arielle Martinez, Editor-in-Chief

Christopher Leelum, Managing Editor

Rachel Siford, Managing Editor

Emily Benson, Opinions Editor

Anisah Abdullah, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Jessica Carnabuci, Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor