As the semester ends amidst presentations, senior shows, finals and good-byes, I realize how much The Record has missed out on writing about this semester.

Although we’ve had articles that covered clubs from Black Student Union to Art Club, we haven’t covered what has really mattered to students within these clubs. Printing an article about something happening is very different than printing an article about why something is important.

Goshen College is known for having students that care. What happens on this campus is intentional and the students are deliberately involved.  Yet, The Record published many articles that simply announced that something was happening on campus, not why it was. There were even times that people had to hunt me down and tell me, “You should publish this. It’s worth your time.”

Why is that? Why did I choose to assign stories that focused on the what instead of the why?

My theory was that I was too focused on having the student body adequately represented; I forgot about who those students were and their motivations. I may know most of what’s going on around campus, but I know I couldn’t name two reasons that the Latino Student Union held the food drive.

This problem is pervasive on this campus. I believe that I am one of many that feel connected to many campus events, but whose understanding ends after the what. It’s a combination of not being ingrained into different groups on campus and also not asking questions. I’m not alone.

Perhaps we can focus on being more engaged in asking about events, understanding the motivation, and being supportive in that understanding. I think that asking is the easiest way to understand, and it gives us personal connections to events that the Goshen College calendar reminders will never have.

In general, I think our campus population would function better if we were more informed about the why of events on campus. Plus, this encourages support and interaction with other students on campus who are connected to various clubs and events on campus.

But, and I truly encourage this, you should call The Record out. What are we missing? What aren’t we saying that needs to be said? This paper is about Goshen College and the why of our school. I missed opportunities for engaging, important articles this semester, but I was able to assign some last-minute due to students bringing them to my attention.

That shouldn’t rest on the student body, but it’s another easy step to take. Ask questions about the why and tell The Record about the why or what it’s missing.

To finish this semester, I want to thank students for their dedication to campus and their respective roles on campus. I also want to apologize for not representing all of those roles to the best of my ability. The Record is a great outlet for information, and my hope is that it grows to include the why whenever possible.