Photo courtesy of Nate Pynchon

Dear Readers,

Welcome back for our final edition of the 2023-24 school year!

This edition has been worked on since spring break so we hope you all enjoy it as much as we have making it! It was tough, especially nearing the end of the semester, but our amazing staff helped to keep everything afloat!

We are now in the part of the semester where everyone starts to feel burned out and demotivated before finals (including me), so I cannot thank our staff enough for the dedication and perseverance they have shown despite the end-of-semester rush to produce the paper that now lies in your hands (or on your laptop screen). 

Warning: things ahead are about to get sappy.

Specifically, I cannot thank our fantastic managing editor, Liz Kameen, enough for the amount of time, effort, and dedication she put into this edition. Liz, you have been absolutely integral to this process and I can’t think of a better person to have as my right hand. From day one, when you first showed up to our first meeting after Club Fair in September of 2022, I knew we had someone special on our hands. Our instinct was proven right as you have continued to impress and inspire me with all that you do both in and outside of The Comenian.

Beyond The Comenian, you are an amazing friend and person. I frankly do not know how you keep it together with everything you have gone through in life but the fact that you continue to push on with a smile on your face is astounding to me. The room always lights up because of your presence. You’re an amazing and supportive friend who continues to inspire me to keep going and to pick myself back up when I fall. You helped me to see that I’m worth more than I give myself credit for.

Additionally, if Liz is my right hand, then Lola Offenback is my left. Lola, I cannot express enough how much your continued help and support both in and outside of The Comenian has meant to me. Between you and Liz we caught lightning in a bottle. Your continued dedication and development continue to impress and astound me to this day both as a writer and as a person. You are one of my best friends and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

You know I’m a very guarded person but you are one of the few people that I really feel like I can lower my guard and actually be vulnerable. Your continued friendship and support despite all the trials and tribulations really mean the world to me. You’ve gone through a lot recently but through all of that, you have grown as a person, and seeing that development both academically and personally has been amazing to see. You take life by the reigns and forge your own path and that is something that keeps me pushing forward every day.

As everyone knows, the graduation for the class of 2024 is now rapidly approaching, which means we soon have to say goodbye to two of our most treasured members, Joel Hendricks and Todd Reedy.

Todd, ever since you came to a random meeting last spring, our entire staff has been lit up with joy to have you on board. You have brought so much light and personality to our staff and to this campus as a whole, and for that, I cannot possibly thank you enough. You’re an amazing person and I am humbled to be able to call you my friend.

My first MAC event was a sitcom-themed trivia night on the PPHAC patio and after I won a TV for getting first place, you walked with and chatted with me and at that moment I realized that this school really was something special. While we didn’t get to know each other until much later, your presence has been felt throughout my entire time here. I, along with everyone else on campus, am sad to see you leave but I cannot wait for the rest of the world to see your humor and incredibly kind attitude.

Joel, you are my best friend. You have been with me through thick and thin and have seen me at both my best and my worst. I cannot think of a better person to call a friend and while I’m sad and scared to see this school without your presence, I know greatness lies ahead of you and I cannot wait to see your continued growth past Moravian’s campus. I know I pestered you incessantly to join the paper but now seeing you 2 years after joining, I am so glad you found a family in The Comenian.

More than anyone else, you are the one person I feel that *GETS* me. I feel like you and I are psychically linked because I have never had a friend as good as you. From my obsessive conversations with you about Persona 5 the entire summer before my sophomore year to the serious and vulnerable moments when you saw me at my lowest, you have always been there for me.

Right when I came to Moravian, more than anyone else, you showed me that there was a place for me. For all my life, I felt like I existed on the outskirts of society but your kind and caring attitude when welcoming me into Video Game Club, for the first time in my life, made me feel truly seen and heard. Your leadership during my freshman year fundamentally shaped how I wanted to lead when I first took over The Comenian. You made me realize that there is a place for everyone including me and I can’t thank you enough for that. 

Since even before you joined The Comenian, your caring and welcoming spirit was there and it will be there long after you and I move on to greater pastures. You may not realize it, but you have been my rock and by extension the rock of The Comenian, so while you may be leaving, your spirit will continue to be felt both in and out of the newspaper. 

Additional thank you to our opinion editor, Fatimah Bouri. During our freshman year, I was always blown away by your incredible articles and right then I knew you would be a great editor. Over the last two years, however, you have grown so much both as a writer, editor, friend, and leader. You’re commitment and dedication to the paper despite all your other involvements continue to blow my mind.

I have seen you grow so much over the past two years and it has been amazing to see. At first, you were fairly quiet and reserved in our meetings but now you add so much life and spunk to The Comenian and campus as a whole. You are such a talented writer and person and we are extremely lucky to not only have on our staff but also as a friend. You are one of the OG’s from my freshman year and your continued support and growth do not go unnoticed. 

Professor Harris, I simply could not ask for a better advisor or mentor. You are the north star of The Comenian and as much as I would like to take credit for all we’ve accomplished, you are the reason we have come so far as a publication. Even before I joined, you built this paper into what it now is today. You continue to give us the wisdom, guidance, and motivation that keep us going. Without you, I and the rest of the staff would be nowhere near where we are today.

Beyond that, however, I cannot put into words how much your guidance has meant to me over the last three years. For one, I feel like you have telepathic powers because you somehow always know exactly the right thing to say whenever I’m stressed or going through a crisis. From those first few months when I was REALLY struggling to adjust to my new position, to now when Liz and I come storming into your office freaking out over the tiniest thing, you always know how to cool us down and make us feel like everything will be ok. When it feels like everything is crumbling around us you’re always there to show us that the world is not ending quite yet.

Even when I question why we even do all of this, and the self-doubt starts to set in, you always show us that what we do here matters and give us the drive we need to keep pushing forward. From day one when I wrote that crappy “rant” on Heritage Day, you helped me to forge my own path within The Comenian and have opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities. I cannot thank you enough for all you’ve done for The Comenian but also for me as well. 

To all the staff I haven’t mentioned here, thank you as well, you are all fantastic and amazing people and your work for The Comenian does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. I could not have asked for a better group of people to have with us on our staff. You deserve all the praise in the world for everything you do for this campus.

Also, a massive thank you to Moravian’s United Student Government for funding this edition and helping to get it off the ground. Student government is very much a tireless and thankless job but your continued support and dedication to the Moravian community inspires our staff to do and be better every day. 

It has been a pleasure to serve on this current USG board, and while there have been bumps along the way, I am so proud of everything this board has done so far. Kayla and Lili, it’s hard to find the words for how much respect I have for you two but you two are doing an absolutely amazing job piloting the USG ship. Your leadership continues to push me to improve both in and out of USG and much of the changes and improvements we have made in The Comenian have been thanks to the examples USG has set.

To the entire USG board, You all have done so much this semester and your hard work to improve campus every day shows in the daily lives of students. You all have been doing a fantastic job and I cannot wait to serve with you all next semester.

Lastly, thank you Moravian community for your continual support. You all are what has allowed us to accomplish all we have done in the last two years and for that, I cannot thank you enough. From my first day here, I knew that this community was special and as my first three years have gone by, I have only been reaffirmed in that belief. 

The support we have received from the wider Moravian community has meant the world to us, and your continued engagement is what keeps this paper running. However, we also very much appreciate that you don’t just blindly praise us. You are our audience so your feedback has been invaluable for us to improve as a newspaper. You holding us accountable continues to help us better ourselves at every step of the way. The Moravian community is by far the best part of this school, and that is why I came here in the first place. This amazingly tight-knit community has given me drive and purpose that I otherwise wouldn’t have had. 

I’ll hop off my sappy soap box now. That’s all from me folks! Thank you for reading The Comenian and be sure to check back in with us when we come back in the fall!

Your editor-in-chief,

AJ Minnich.