For the RecordFor the Record is a weekly editorial usually written by the current executive editor of The Record. It may also be written by other Record editors.
For the Record is a weekly editorial usually written by the current executive editor of The Record. It may also be written by other Record editors.
February 15, 2024
Music, together
For three afternoons a week, for an hour and a half (and two hours on Mondays), I forget about everything else going on in my life and walk into the Music Center, pull out my black folder, and start my vocal warmups. I’ve sung in GC’s low voice choir, Vox Profundi, every year of my college career. Now, over my time at this school, I’ve been a part of a good number of clubs, groups and extracurriculars. Don’t get me wrong: I love, love, love my work with The Record; I talk constantly about how much joy I get from...
February 1, 2024
Reclaiming my essence
For most of us, grief means reminiscing on the memory of a grandmother, a sibling or a pet, longing to bring something to life that cannot be brought back. We yearn for their presence to return to our lives. But how do you grieve for yourself — your very own essence? In my first years at Goshen College, I began to explore who I was, and I wanted to blossom into my new role as an adult. During that time, I was secure in who I was and what I wanted for my life. Isis was certain she was destined...
January 25, 2024
It’s just a name
People say that names carry an extraordinary amount of meaning. There’s some truth to that. To my friends, I go by Dan, but I grew up with my family calling me Daniel. To me, the two names are somewhat different: Daniel is deeper, more emotional, while Dan is fun and free-spirited. I don’t have a favorite; they just feel separate. But no matter what, everyone knows my last name as Eash-Scott — until now. This semester, I made a decision I’ve been wanting to make for a long time: I am now writing under the name Daniel James. I’ve replaced...
January 18, 2024
The power of paper
I started working on my history senior thesis last week. I’m telling the story of the 2010-11 national anthem controversy at Goshen College, a tale of politics, convictions and identity. Those of you who were around 13 years ago probably remember it well; it’s a fascinating topic — for those of who you don’t know it, I would recommend looking it up. But this isn’t about that subject — what I love about writing this thesis is that I’m using this very newspaper as my most important primary source. The Record is beautiful in that way, I think. Studying both...
November 30, 2023
Gratitude overflowing
The final editorial of the semester has a tried-and-true pattern, often offering encomiums and a love letter to journalism — and I, for one, am happy to carry on that tradition. After nine issues together, I have little else but gratitude on my mind. The path from accounting to The Record may not be well-trod, and it certainly wasn’t in my college plans, but I’ve found the newspaper’s central role as a forum for campus discussion to be captivating. When I had my first article published (an opinion on starting college amid a pandemic), I was fascinated with the process...
November 9, 2023
Balancing the mess
As I entered my junior year of college, I could not have been more excited for all the different roles that I was going to be playing throughout campus. I was going to be chief announcer at The Globe, photo editor for The Record, a photographer for Comm-Mar, continue my work at Sauder Concert Hall and hoped that many more opportunities would present themselves. As the semester started, I was bursting with energy, ready to start into these jobs and take them to the next level; however, I found that one thing consistently got in my way: classes. Now, I...
November 3, 2023
An ode to change
There is something bittersweet about the unknown — being so close to the end, so close to change, but having no idea how to navigate it. I was reminded this past week of just how quickly time is passing by as I sat down for my advising session and began making plans for my senior internship next spring. The semester ends in just six weeks, I’m nearly six months away from graduating, and I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing with my life. This semester has been marked with a constant cycle of change in my life. Sure, there...
October 26, 2023
An appreciation for leaves
As the seasons change, I often find it hard to remember the previous one — with the first drop in temperature and dew-frosted mornings too cold for short sleeves, warm weather becomes hard to remember. And when we get a “second summer,” like these last few days, I wonder how I could’ve possibly worn a sweater the day before (and quickly make plans for pickleball). My favorite part about fall is, without a doubt, the leaves. This week, the trees on campus have erupted in full force, with stunning displays of fiery reds, mellow magentas, sun-tinged yellows and all...
October 12, 2023
News and neighbors
At the beginning of my second semester of college, two-and-a-half years ago, I was tasked with writing a piece for The Record on Donald Trump’s second impeachment. Brimming with the excitement of writing my first news article and eager to do well, I modeled it off what I’d read in national newspapers. I wrote about the lead-up to the insurrection, the political aftermath, stuck a quote from President Stoltzfus’ campus-wide email in the last paragraph and sent it off to my editor. My first draft was too national-focused — we moved up Becky’s quote to the second paragraph, and my...
October 5, 2023
Everlasting sweat
One thing I’ve been thinking about this week is my grandpa’s sweat. Well, not specifically my grandpa’s sweat, but the words of an intro to a YouTube video I watched many years ago. Despite scouring the internet for this video, I can’t find it, but it has nonetheless stuck with me: a YouTuber started a video in front of a lake and said that his grandpa’s sweat was in it. His grandfather had swum in the lake only once, decades earlier, but claimed that after all those years, trace particles of his grandpa’s sweat had been mixed around and still...
September 28, 2023
Crosswords behind the scenes
When people hear that I make crossword puzzles with the help of a computer program, they’re usually surprised by how easy it must be. And while it’s true that I’m grateful not to be constructing in the era of graph paper and leafing through dictionaries, it is harder than it may sound. I thought it could be fun to go behind the scenes of this week’s crossword, so I’ll use it as an example for my process. Mild spoilers follow, so I suggest you flip to page 7 first and return here for the inside look. I started this week...
September 14, 2023
Cultivating and being cultivated
After getting back from studying in Ecuador this summer, I had four weeks at home before I moved into college. This transition time was awkward and challenging: I was abruptly back home and expected the reverse culture shock to hit me — but sometimes it didn’t, and the familiarity I felt returning to the U.S. was jarring in its own way. With a wide-open schedule for the first time in months, if not years, I wasn’t sure how to fill my days. I was feeling out-of-place in my country, in my privilege and at times in my family. One way...
September 8, 2023
Fresh flowers and faces
I just love the start of a school year. The anticipation and built-up energy are perennially rejuvenating, and I find myself looking forward to campus life by the end of my summers. It’s always fun to return, noticing the changes summer has brought: flourishing flowers and meticulously manicured landscaping tended by the physical plant staff, a Spanish section added at the library, the Visual Arts building’s masonry restored, the intramural volleyball courts replenished with sand, a kitchen-trailer camping out in a parking lot — and, of course, new faces. I find this sense of budding, bubbling newness best embodied at...
April 13, 2023
The power of our voices
We first joined The Record staff as arts page co-editors. We then took on the features and news pages together. It is only fitting to co-write this editorial to end our semester as co-executive editors. At the first editorial meeting of the semester, we asked our staff to visit AreYouPressworthy.com. The Columbia Journalism Review created the website to calculate “press value based on current reporting in America.” To calculate one’s value, one must enter their age, gender, state and ethnicity. We were only worth 20 and 26 news stories. In comparison, a missing white woman in her early 20s would...
March 30, 2023
‘It’s okay if you don’t’
A faculty member recently asked me, “How can you do it all?” I shrugged and replied, “I honestly couldn’t say.” The truth is, I could say, but that would be admitting that I have too much on my plate and I’ve been neglecting my mental health. It often feels like I don’t have time to focus on it or to feel my feelings in general, so, I channel my energy into extracurriculars and coursework. This is what dealing with high-functioning depression feels like. You may not look “depressed” because you’re still functioning. So, in turn, nobody really checks on you....