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Writing has never been difficult for me. I am better with words on paper than I am with words in speech. That was the idiosyncrasy that led me to DU Beat as a disillusioned first year student undergoing an identity crisis. However, as I sat down to write this Farewell note at the end of my time with this platform, I found myself at a loss for words. It’s clearly not easy saying goodbye to something that has been an integral part of my identity for the past three years.

DU Beat has continued to grow by leaps and bounds since its inception ten years ago, and it was an absolute honour to have had the chance to influence this growth during a period that saw great tumult and radical changes in the world, especially in the student community. We were at the forefront of covering important issues around the University throughout the year, including the DUSU elections and the events at Ramjas College earlier this year, and proudly stuck to our motto of ‘Freedom of Expression’.

What makes DU Beat great, apart from the fact that we are the one of the biggest campus publications in the country, is the amount and diversity of the opportunities it has to offer. Some apply looking for an internship experience, others do it for the want of a platform that gives space to their talent which their academic life has no scope for, and yet others – like yours truly – do it in search of a purpose to keep themselves engaged and energised during the course of their otherwise drab college lives. Everyone gets what they are looking for, and more. Working at DU Beat isn’t just writing articles, meeting deadlines and covering events. It is also finding yourself in unexpected situations and learning to adapt in order to come out at the top. It is on-ground, real-world experience that’s hard to come by for 20-year-old students so early in their career. It is finding kaleidoscopic minds coming together for riveting conversations who become teammates to work with and friends to depend on and meet outside of work. It is gruelling, challenging yet rewarding work, and laughter, appreciation and unwinding with a team that starts feeling like family. It was all of that for me for the past three years – a purpose, a family, a constant. By the end of your time here, you don’t realise most of the voids you came with because this place finds a way to fill them.

Out of all the things we achieved this year – from the increases in our readership to experimenting successfully with live platforms – I am the most proud of the team we’ve managed to put together. It is with a heavy heart but immense confidence that I leave this team we built in the capable leadership of Vineeta Rana, as the Editor for the year 2017-18, and Srivedant Kar, as the Associate Editor. With the satisfaction of having seen everyone in the team grow not only as journalists but also as people, I sign off from my duties as the Editor for 2016-17.

 

Shubham Kaushik