In the end . . .

One year ago, as my board took the helm of The Daily Princetonian, I wrote that I hoped during the coming year to fulfill the promise of J.F. Williamson — the founding editor of the 'Prince' — who, in his first editorial, pledged earnestly that his newspaper would strive to prove worthy of the great university it was setting out to cover.

We knew from the outset that fulfilling that promise would mean parting with some traditions and, at the same time, creating our own. The result has been a year of rapid expansion and change unmatched in the newspaper's recent history — a new layout, the advent of Page 3, a revamped Website, a news section increasingly attuned to in-depth reporting and a new weekly publication, The Prince Magazine. It is gratifying to know that, just one year after we set out to renew and reinvigorate this newspaper, many of these changes are already taken for granted by our readers.

We began the year with a blueprint for leaving the 'Prince' a better paper than we found it. But the one thing newspapers can never plan for — and which newspaper editors everywhere pray for — is breaking news. And in that sense, the journalism gods have smiled on us this year: From the passage of the Wythes report last spring to President Shapiro's resignation this fall to the participation of three Princetonians in the presidential race, our year at the 'Prince' has been a news-filled one.

Still, while the 'Prince' will always embrace its role as Princeton's newspaper of record, we have tried to offer more than a mere daily recounting of breaking news events. Our series on admissions, our weekly Page 3 articles on trends in higher education, our profiles of alumni, our numerous magazine pieces on different facets of life at the University, our 10 articles on race at Princeton — all have reflected this board's belief that journalism of high purpose and narrative eloquence ought to have a cherished place on this campus.

Through 136 editions of the newspaper, 12 editions of the magazine and countless special features on our Website, we have tried not to lose sight of the promise we inherited from J.F. Williamson and reaffirmed as our own. The founders of the 'Prince' would not recognize the newspaper we publish today. But they would almost certainly recognize its spirit of innovation. It was, after all, the founders of the 'Prince' who — in believing that a student-run newspaper could be worthy of one of the world's greatest universities — proved themselves to be eight of the most daring innovators in Princeton history. The 124th managing board has tried its best to follow in their footsteps.

In doing so, we have asked our writers, photographers, graphic designers, Web staffers and cartoonists to work long hours and grapple with difficult subjects. We hope they are proud to have been part of this endeavor. We are proud to have worked with them.

We leave the 'Prince' in the capable hands of Editor-in-Chief Daniel Stephens '02 and the 125th managing board. They will now have the opportunity to leave their own mark on the paper. I have no doubt they will do a terrific job.

There is an old sports mantra that at the end of a game, you ought to be able to say you "left it all" on the field. Today, as our final issue of the 'Prince' flutters to the floor in front of dorm-room doors and appears on screens in computer clusters across campus, we find ourselves worn-out from a year of hard work, but proud of what we have done. We left it all in these pages. — RICHARD JUST '01 124th Editor-in-Chief