Parting Shots

Parting is such sweet sorrow. Especially when you're saying goodbye to some of the coolest cats ever to prowl TJ's grounds. Listen up newbies, you just might learn something.

Corey Bennett
I’m not lying when I saw that the Dec has been a part of my life for literally my entire college career, so I’d appreciate some empathy on the gushing eulogy I’m about to deliver for my tenure at this publication. I picked up a copy the very first week and I just fell in love; I knew that the people who created this magazine could help me discover who I wanted to be and what I wanted to get out of college. I stuck it out doing menial tasks as a first year and I worked my way up, writing album and show reviews pretty much every week, and as a second year I was elected to be scene editor. After a whirlwind year trying to hammer out my niche at this University, the responsibilities of executive editor were handed down to me. The emotions I felt can only be described as a mix of excitement at the opportunity and dread at the responsibility. The Dec could be whatever I wanted it to be; on the other hand, anything that I failed on would translate into a failure for the organization. But because I was surrounded by people who cared and who genuinely enjoyed this work in the same way I did, I can honestly say that I’m proud of the work that I’ve done at this magazine from day one.

Let’s be real: I never came to the Dec expecting to change anyone’s life with my writing. From the beginning I knew I was shooting for a small but dedicated audience simply because U.Va. doesn’t have enough people who are passionate about the things that we find important in Charlottesville and beyond. I started coming to the Dec because it’s something that I have always loved doing. It would be dishonest of me to say that there was never a Tuesday where I was tired and disinterested in the material in front of me, but I stuck it out because it’s all I’ve known in college. Three and a half years of my life went in to this paper, and I’m really sad to see them come to an end (although I will be enjoying two dollar pints at Mellow Mushroom every Tuesday until I graduate). But for every night I spent in a less than stellar mood in the basement of Newcomb, there are three memories of times that people have come up to me and asked me about the newspaper that I led, the articles that I wrote, and the things that I really enjoy in this town. As I depart the staff of this paper, I take with me truly fond recollections of the friends I have made, the things I’ve learned, and the people I’ve pissed off with my writing. I wouldn’t trade those for anything.

Rosie Han
Admittedly, I hate writing when it isn’t necessary. So why the fuck would I work for a student publication? I knew coming into my first year that UVa might not have been the perfect fit for me. I was split between here and VCU, and if you are familiar with Virginia schools you know that the schools represent almost complete opposites. Here, students get drunk and watch horses race. At VCU, students get drunk and watch fixed gear bikes race. You can get a good feel for a university from the organizations and initiatives the students are involved with, and for me it all started with a “FREE SEX” sign at the student activities fair. No, Hoos Kinky was not a CIO yet, and there actually wasn’t any sex at all. It was The Declaration. Most people probably passed by, thinking “what the fuck” or “weird…”, but I thought it was hilarious seeing that sign poking above the heads of wide-eyed first years.

Working for a student publication wasn’t in my agenda, but I fully appreciate everything I’ve learned about myself in the process (and every good laugh about a perverted pun shared with my weary-eyed staff members). Really, we are not oblivious to the fact that our publication isn’t the most widely circulated on Grounds and that the Dec has a reputation for being hipster and for the alternative kids at UVa. But there will always be an under-represented voice in a community as homogeneous as UVa, and The Declaration will be the soapbox for those thoughts, concerns, musings, and

Andy Alward
My time as Arts and Culture editor has been marked by wonderful writers on the staff and good buddies on the managing board. I’d like to start this brief retrospective by thanking those writers who wrote for me with the most fervor, insight, and last-minute availability: Kevin, Caroline, Katie, Mounika, and Emily. You guys made it easy and fun for me, so thank you, and good luck as you continue at the Dec, and in your lives.

At this point I’d like to pause and express mild dissatisfaction with the current state of alternative music. I don’t much care for synth pop, and sometimes it seems that this is all anyone cares about, talks about, or listens to. I do enjoy the way that the past couple years of new music have been looking backwards and reinterpreting musical reference points that can be called “classic.” The best musicians today are those that have a rich body of 20th century influences that they draw on and interpret through a 21st century lens. For me, I need sincerity and feeling, and a song needs to sound good with a piano or guitar and a voice before I can believe in it.

In conclusion, I think there is something inherently valuable in local music, and in being involved with it. There is music all around you in Charlottesville, and despite what you think about the scene, it would benefit from your participation. Whether that means starting a band or going to shows or listening to local music is up to you. There are plenty of other, better music scenes that await you after you leave Charlottesville, but being involved here is something that will make you enjoy those scenes more and something that you may never be able to access again once you leave.

“It’s sunny and 75, it feels so good to be alive”

Kirsty Clark
I’d just returned from studying abroad the first semester of my second year. And I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing at UVA after having the spent the best five months of my life in Scotland. Luckily, my new roommate (who was, in fact, one of my dearest and oldest friends) suggested that I join her to “this weird magazine thing that she sometimes went to”. I figured it would be better than eating dry Ramen Noodles and crying over pictures of Loch Ness. I don’t think I’d ever met a more eclectic, plaid-wearing, self-absorbed, or literate group of individuals. I didn’t know the lyrics to half the music they played, and I wasn’t really in to wearing jeans that cut off my circulation. But when it came to the jokes, I felt right at home. As Production Manager, it wasn’t always easy to spout off current events in the form of jokes every week, but being in charge of Poodah not only introduced me to the twisted worlds of the Kardashians, Charlie Sheen, and Sarah Palin, but HE also inspired me to read multiple news sources on a daily basis, and for that, I am grateful. I’ll be graduating from UVA in December and moving up to Boston to work in a psych ward for children with severe autism (see, we DO care about other people after all!) and I’ll probably never do anything like the Dec again in my life. But I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with such interesting and intelligent people and to be a part of a student-run project that is bursting with creativity and potential.
Frau Adaliz Camelty, signing off.

Claire Nawojchik
I first encountered the Dec as a wide eyed first year, making my way to Newcomb basement before it was all posh and shit. The room was crowded, the people were intimidating, and I felt like a loser. Honestly, I don’t know exactly why I went back…but I did. I evolved from standing awkwardly in the corner with my friend, to editing articles, to actually writing my first column. I wrote a column about riding the bus for a full bus loop and all the weird people I saw. Then I wrote a column entitled “Commander In Briefs.” Ok, so they may not have been the epitome of outstanding journalism, but it was enough to get my foot in the door and be offered a position as associate editor. That’s when things began to turn around. I went to my first meeting as an associate editor, still feeling a bit shy, and was luckily assigned to work on calendar with a friendly, talkative member of man-board. After that, I actually made friends, enjoyed dance parties at the Poop Factory, and got pretty good at whipping up sigs and such. Things were on the up and up. Considering my humble beginnings, it’s a wonder I ended up being lit editor. The Dec has definitely been a growing experience for me. I have always loved creative writing, the printed word, photography, and art, and getting the opportunity to work with other creative-minded individuals has been a real honor. The Dec helped me find my niche at UVa and I thank all of you for that. Love ya, Dec. I hope the new managing board takes care of you, for all our sakes.

Sarah Gabriel
I felt completely out of my element when I joined The Declaration, mostly because I didn’t think I was cool enough. It’s no secret that The Dec harbors one of the highest concentrations of hipsters at UVa. So what the hell was I even doing there? I certainly had never heard any of the music mentioned in the paper and I am pretty sure I was scared of Corey Bennett for the first few weeks. At one of the Poodah sessions where we were bashing “bad” music, Andy chimed in with “the Chili Peppers,” and I had to hang my head in shame because, yes, they are my favorite band. But after I had spent a few Tuesday nights mingling with my fellow editors and realizing that they weren’t nearly as cool as I had originally thought, I soon found my own little niche (of course, this niche was creating movie posters that replaced one of the words with “jizz,” so I don’t really know what that says about me). I felt like I actually belonged here! I think, most of all, I will miss hanging out with everyone—my favorite memories include blasting Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” at one in the morning and browsing profiles on OK Cupid. Oh, how I’ll miss it. The Dec has come this far because of the people behind it, and I am honored to have been a part of it. I’LL MISS YOU GUYS!

Kelsey Goodman
The last bit of advice my dad gave me when he dropped me off at college was, “Kelsey, nothing good will ever happen to you after 2 am. It doesn’t matter what condition you’re in at the time, but just know, if that clock hits 2, just go to sleep.” Being the diligent student of social science that I am, I have worked exhaustively over the past 3 1/2 years to falsify that hypothesis. Alas, it holds true.

But of all the bad decisions I’ve made after 2 AM (and trust me, I’ve made many bad decisions) the worst was probably agreeing to be the Dec’s News editor. I just remember waking up the morning after elections feeling like I had just sold my soul to a devil in skinny jeans (there’s a Pitchfork joke in there somewhere).

I don’t know, somewhere along the way I started to grow attached to this little magazine. And then I started to love it. I love you, Dec. You waste my Tuesday nights, but goshdarnit, you’re worth it.

As I say goodbye to the Dec , thinking back through the misty water-colored memories, I would like to offer a little bit of advice, based off of my own mistakes and misguided experiences, to the incoming manboard and all the starry-eyed manboards (menboards?) to come.

DON’T:
-Kick your shoes off when you start editing in the Coup. You will forget to put them back on when you go to get something from the printer, and then the next thing you know, you’re the weird girl who doesn’t wear shoes.
-Lock yourself in a Newcomb stairwell at 5 AM.
-Worry about the typos you didn’t catch. No one reads the Dec anyway.
-Get indignant over trifling matters.

DO:
-Throw more Dec parties. Early and often.
-Read over your emails before you send them, that way you’ll avoid sending one as disastrous as that one I sent that one time (you know the one)
-Make a Das Racist reference in every. single. issue.
-Get indignant over trifling matters – I retract my earlier advice. Go ahead, talk too much about the Living Wage, overturning Citizen’s United, or withholding aid from Israel until they end the illegal settlements in the West Bank. If you don’t care too much about a cause now, no matter how significant or insignificant, when you’re in college, when the hell will you care? Twenty-one is way too young to stop exploring the world. Don’t be that person who has no interests outside their own self. Don’t be that person. That person sucks.