So Long, Huskies

Published: April 27, 2026

It’s hard to believe that I will be a college graduate in just two weeks. When I came to USM four years ago, I was an elementary education major– if you had told me that I would be graduating as the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the school paper, I would have been shocked. I switched my major to Media and Communication in my sophomore year and met the former Co-Editors through class. The Free Press is often advertised and discussed in the CMS department. I don’t think I would have found a place in the Free Press if I hadn’t changed my major. Although I’ve only been on the Free Press staff for two years, the way I’ve seen the paper grow and adapt is so fulfilling. The Free Press has been publishing at USM since the 1970s, and as my fellow Co-Editor and I stepped into our positions, we realized that the Free Press was not the same paper it used to be. The old faded copies framed on the walls from decades before were a tribute to what the paper used to be, but also an inspiration that it could become that again– a representation of what students care about, what they think, and how smart, creative, and dynamic they are. For a student-run paper to thrive, it needs support from the university that it calls home. I believe USM can give that support again, especially after the amazing work our writers produced this past school year, asking hard questions and telling important stories about USM and other larger social issues. I feel relieved leaving the paper with such an amazing staff with passion, grit, and gumption to revive the Free Press to its former glory— and even make it better than ever before. The Free Press is a place of community and expression that any student, no matter their major or discipline, can really benefit from being a part of. So, as I say goodbye, I urge anyone interested in joining the Free Press to go for it.