Words from the president
For those of you that are new, my name is Alejandro Melgar, the president of Saitsa’s publication turned club, the Emery Weal.
I suppose I should say the former, as I am stepping down as of Tuesday, Oct. 4.
Since I am a graduate that has moved on to a career and degree program at the University of Calgary, I’m sad to say that I can’t stick around any longer.
Our new president will be our editor-in-chief, Pamela Shah, who has been a great help to the Emery Weal.
Every single one of the board members has been great, and I couldn’t have worked with a more passionate team.
Shah, along with our board, has been fantastic with the stories they have reported on and contributed with this past year.
I have seen some amazing stories come in that I’ve had the pleasure of editing and working on.
So many, in fact, that I have found myself learning from the contributor. Though, it’s always good to be humble in this field. Every writer has something to teach you.
The board has also been great with setting up the Weal for the fall semester. I’m happy to see it come so far. After all, at the start, it was just a couple of us trying our best to put content up.
My classmates and I wanted to see a platform for us journalism students to publish our work. This includes our former multimedia editor, and our first vice-president, Rory Carroll and Paola Hinojosa.
Read more: Words from the editor – Back to life for the Weal
So much of our writing and photos were being held in our drawers, so to speak. A real writer only takes their writing out and shares it for others to read.
As Ernest Hemingway said to F. Scott Fitzgerald:
Write the best story that you can and write it as straight as you can.
The Weal gave us that chance, one we really longed for. I’m happy that we got the Weal started, and it’s only the beginning.
The legacy of the Weal still holds true. Aryn Toombs, Chelsea Kemp, and Roger Holmes, all winning awards for their works, are people that worked with the Weal.
Our goal is to be independent. We aim to stray away from club policy and to be what we are: a publication by the students and for the students.
I’m sorry to leave without a plan to move towards independence, but I trust the board and the contributors to carry that passion into the future.
The Weal is still evolving, and I see it growing as Shah and the team experiment to see it succeed.
That was our real goal. The closure in 2020 was only a step towards being it’s own.
A club is also a step closer to independence.
I’m going to keep my eyes peeled for the stories that come in. I’ll still edit work when I can, so you may get an email from me if I do.
Until then, catch you later.
Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance.
James Baldwin
