Sherine John / Daily Nexus
Our predecessor, Pricila Flores, asked my co-editor Emily Yoon and I a question in her letter from the editor: “While I know this role seems daunting, it will chew you up and spit you back out as a changed person. Good or bad? Let me know at the end of your term.”
I don’t have an answer. It would be one thing for me to say, “This role has caused me to grow in ways I didn’t think were possible,” even though a part of myself earnestly believes that. But, I wouldn’t be entirely honest if I didn’t also acknowledge the extent to which this role chewed me up and spit me back out — which happened many, many times.
During my freshman year, I joined the Daily Nexus because I was passionate about writing and I didn’t feel like I had a place at UC Santa Barbara just yet. I wrote for the Artsweek and Opinion sections, and stuck with Opinion because of the lovely, hilarious and inviting environment that the editors Toni Shindler-Ruberg and Emily Kocis created in the office. Amidst what I felt was a personally tumultuous year, I was just happy to be in the office, chatting about what the horoscopes would be for the week. I was given the opportunity to share opinions, thoughts and stories with an inviting and engaging community.
My experience as a writer my freshman year informed my favorite part of my time at the Nexus: connecting with the writers, chatting with them at weekly Opinion meetings, giving them my orientation spiel, editing their stories and seeing them excitedly pick up their stories in print. I ended my freshman year having started a new position as assistant opinion editor.
Fast forward two years later, and I was elected for this position alongside the lovely Emily Yoon in the crowded, leaky and lovable office we would end up spending most of our time in. Emily was on my computer, as she was interning in Washington, D.C. at the time. I remember holding her floating head as I walked inside to hear Pricila announcing that we were the next editors in chief of the Daily Nexus. I would wake up with a tightness in my chest for weeks after, knowing that this next year would be a lot, but not quite sure what shape it would take.
Now near the end of it, I can say that my fourth year was much like my first — tumultuous, difficult and formative. Much of it was personal, but I can’t deny that this job has also consumed me, chewed me up so to speak, and the year-long learning curve was both extremely demanding and incredibly rewarding.
As student journalists, the editors, writers and contributors at the Nexus are tasked with the enormous responsibility of representing our local community as accurately as possible, alongside taking a (likely) full course load, working other jobs and trying to eat and sleep when they get the chance. Everyone I have met within this office possesses an incredible dedication to serving their surrounding community, whether it be through reporting pertinent news in a timely manner, sharing their family’s traditional recipe, creating a visually-engaging chart to showcase information relevant to their reader, writing about personal experiences at UCSB, spotlighting a local band, creating the weekly crossword, designing the posts that go on our social media, critically reading our content to best represent the communities mentioned and so much more. And they’re doing this in between (and sometimes during) classes, on late nights under Storke Tower, on weekends and whenever else they can fit in the time.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is (now, more than ever) for there to be students reporting on the community that they are a part of, sharing stories that others will learn something new from and showcasing these things alongside a multimedia backdrop that portrays the information in an accessible manner.
Print journalism may be dying, but it is absolutely not dead on a college campus, and especially not at UCSB. We go to a school where people are conversational, eager to connect and encourage one another in their academic and personal interests. I consider the print edition to be a weekly letter addressed to our community, for people to engage with and potentially consider contributing to.
Someone I didn’t know once reached out to me about a personal opinion piece I wrote, telling me they related to it. To be able to move people, offering them the sense that they are not alone, is one of my favorite things about being on a campus publication.
Being a part of a student newsroom will give you a better understanding of the community around you and how to advocate for them, emphasize the delicate balance between backing for your perspective and understanding another, teach you the merit of a healthy disagreement and connect you with those in your orbit.
On walks home from the office at 2, 3 and even 4:30 a.m., I would sometimes ask myself if I’ll miss all of this. In the sleepy haze, I acknowledged that I will. I look at the people accompanying me and know the following: this is a part of the “good old days” that I will likely tell my hypothetical future children about.
Thank you to the 2024-25 editorial staff for your passion and dedication. It was a joy to engage with your brilliant work and connect with you all.
Emily, it was a pleasure to lead alongside you. It’s fitting that we met at the Opinion writers meeting, even more fitting that you stayed back later to talk with Toni and I. You have been an incredible source of support and motivation through this year. There is a difference between presenting and being a united front, and I think we were a united front — while we had our disagreements on how something should be done, I believe we maintained a desire to understand where the other was coming from and keep our personal and professional relationship in a good place. You don’t need me to tell you this, but I have seen your dedication and talent first-hand, and I know you will continue to be incredibly successful.
Daily Nexus / Lucy Dixon
To Bridget Weingart, my first ever friend at the Nexus and one of my favorite people on Earth (I said it), I truly don’t know how I could have survived this year without you, our puzzle sessions, donut runs and rendezvous in the library. You are one of the most affirming and supportive people I know, and I hope to have the privilege to call you my friend long beyond our time at UCSB.
Sneha Cheenath, I have loved working with you as our managing editor. In the office, you are the person that I always hear the most well thought-out, surprising take from and genuinely pause to reconsider my whole life. I hope to read more of your engaging and thought-provoking writing.
Thank you to Toni Shindler-Ruberg and Emily Kocis for creating one of my first homes at UCSB and hiring me as your assistant. I am eternally grateful to have crossed paths with you both and I hope you know how many people’s days you made during your editorship.
Thank you to Pricila Flores for training me to adopt this position. Your grace and calm composure through the previous school year was inspiring and something I strive toward, inside and outside the Nexus. I appreciate your support through this year.
Thank you to Atmika Iyer for being a kind and unwavering resource for not only myself and Emily but also our entire editorial staff. I really respect and admire your commitment to the values of journalism.
Elizabeth Lee and Sury Dongre, my first hires, I’ll miss our chaotic print nights in the Opinion office.
Thank you to Linda Meyer, our financial advisor, for your assistance and support throughout this year and for giving us the lore of Nexus past.
I have to thank my support system outside of the Nexus, at home and elsewhere for keeping me (somewhat) sane and intact throughout this year. I love you all very much.
To our successors, Shayla Prasad and Anusha Singh, you both genuinely inspire me each day that you hold this position. Coming from Production, you have served as the backbone of the Nexus, staying at a print night until it’s become the morning. You have remained immersed in our editorial process. Your resilience through your time here has been personally motivating for me, and I am incredibly excited to see you both continue to lead the Nexus. I have seen you both transition into this position with immense grace, and you have my unwavering support through the next year and beyond.
Congratulations to the class of 2025. I’m excited for the team we’re leaving here. You’re in good company.
Best,
Amitha Bhat
2024-25 Editor in Chief
Term Trivia
Favorite print snack:
- Subway!!!
Favorite Nexus memory:
- Joining the Opinion section as an editor! Opinion print nights!
Self-appointed office superlative:
- Most likely to listen to “The Social Network” soundtrack when I need to lock in
- Most likely to lurk on Slack
Original section
- Opinion
Favorite print edition
- Valentine’s Day!
Favorite thing about the Nexus
- Gaining so much knowledge about the community around me, while also being a part of an amazing environment at UCSB
Describe each other in three words
Emily is honest, supportive, and a conversationalist
What section would you want to be an editor for, other than your own?
- On the Menu or Artsweek
For Emily Yoon’s letter from the editor, click here.
