Each year, graduating editors are given 30 final column inches — “30” was historically used to signify the end of a story — to reflect on their time at The Hatchet, published in the final issues of the year.
The Hatchet turned 120 years old this year, and I only knew it for two-and-a-half years of its lifespan. It’s a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of its existence, but I am so grateful to have grabbed onto it and played a miniscule part.
As a copy editor, I don’t write for this paper very often (I think this piece will be my sixth byline ever). My job is to polish the existing words on the page — not find my own. So to figure out which words to reach for, I dug through The Hatchet archives to see how previous copy editors wrote their story down.
During my time at The Hatchet, I’ve worked alongside three other copy editors, but so many more have assumed the role throughout The Hatchet’s 120-year run. Many of them were in the same boat as me, feeling like fish out of water as they wrote their 30s to wrap up their experience. Reading through their stories, I saw so many parallels to mine. A few mentioned joining on whims, not aware of what they were going into. Others joked about mistakes that kept them up later at night or their vision blurring as they trudged through edits. Many mentioned the laughs they shared or the memories they made with the people of this paper.
It’s comforting as I prepare to leave this paper to know that my experiences will continue to play out long after I am gone. Being a copy editor at times can feel like you are just a cog in the wheel. Working in the back corner of the basement and quietly picking through stories for errors can be a thankless job at times. But there is also beauty in the repetition of a routine carried out by so many who came before me and those who will come after. It allows a little piece of myself to stick around, echoing even after this paper’s staff has turned over and over and anyone who remembered my name is long gone.
I mostly joined this paper in order to learn more about the characters my friends kept telling me about. Armed only with a love of correcting friends’ papers in high school and a parasocial obession with my high school English teacher, joining staff and copyediting dozens of stories a week was an adjustment — to put it mildly. I often felt out of the loop, not knowing the insider jargon, like nut graf and lede, that everyone else threw around casually. I thought I was joining to spend more time with my friends, but many of them were news editors, and my job only started once theirs were done.
Instead, I found myself forging my own path in the weeds of the AP Stylebook, asking a million questions and trying to cram all of the intricacies and rules into my head. The Hatchet wasn’t what I expected, but it was so much more rewarding. Joining a paper just to hang out with my friends was admittedly the wrong reason. This job demands too much to not love it, and I surprised myself with how much I fell head over heels for copyediting.
There’s no feeling like catching a glaring error or winning a copy argument or going on a late-night CVS run, drunk on the first breath of fresh air in hours. I shocked myself with how much I enjoyed reading through stories and looking for the errors. It’s made me a much stronger writer, given me a leg up in internship applications and slowly become a muscle that I’ve strengthened over my tenure here.
Joining the copy section was the most surprising twist my college experience took, but I’m so grateful for the road that led me here.
We don’t get much time here at this University, but I truly am glad that I spent a chunk of it with The Hatchet. The people here are some of the most dedicated and hardworking people I know, and they inspire me to care about my community a fraction as much as I see them care every day. It takes a lot of love for the people of GW to devote your college experience to covering all facets of this University, and everyone at The Hatchet has it in spades.
It’s easy as a copy editor to get hung up on the things you don’t catch rather than the ones you do. At the end of the day, however, I probably won’t remember the errors that kept me up for a night. What will stick with me from my time here is the people that I met and the memories that I made:
Erika: The only person on this staff I got the privilege of knowing pre-Hatchet. I’m so grateful for the forces that put us together as little babies on the third floor of Somers. I’m very lucky to have walked through the past four years with you. Thanks for all the coffee dates, book sales, Thai dinners, vent sessions and everything else. There’s no one else I would rather spend a week exploring Amsterdam with. Your steadfast commitment to your work is just so impressive, and your copy was always my favorite to check. I’m very very glad to have you as a forever friend. Let’s get some ice cream soon.
Nikki: Mama!! Love you so very much. Thank you for all of the laughs — both inside the townhouse and out. I know you know this, but you really are one of the most important people in my life, and getting to spend so much of my college experience with you has been such a wonderful journey. Thank you for asking to hang out with me our first year and keeping me around ever since. You are one of the most inclusive and welcoming people I know, and I really appreciate you always seeing me, especially when I felt invisible. The care you show everyone shines through in your work, and this paper is 1000x better for it. I couldn’t imagine my college experience without you in it.
Caitlin: My Amst buddy! You’ve touched so many parts of my college experience and made them all so much better. You are the reason I am here writing this. Thank you for telling me to apply for copy. I don’t know if I ever told you this, but in the fall of my first year — long before I met anyone on staff — I was considering it, but I never had the guts to actually apply. You telling me I could do it gave me the confidence to put myself out there and try. Thank you for being such a cheerleader and encouraging me when I feel like I’m doing an awful job. You are an amazing editor and writer — even though you work very differently than me — and your attention to detail and the amount of care and love you show to this paper inspires me to do the same.
Remi: THE president of The Hatchet honorary members club. Thanks for putting up with all of the shop talk over the years. I’m sad that you never crossed the dark side with me and officially joined staff, though I also respect the decision to observe from a distance. You are one of the kindest, most hardworking people I know, and you deserve every good thing that I can see coming on the horizon for you. We’ve come a long way from living together in JBKO as near-strangers, and I’m glad we’ve gotten to navigate so much of college together from D.C. to abroad. I love the goofy giggles and work sessions we’ve shared.
Nick: My late-night pal! Thanks for hanging in the basement with me and making me smile even when it’s way too late to still be there. I am so glad that I got to get to know you, and I’m so lucky to get to call you my friend and debate random topics with you. I appreciate you and the incredible devotion you have to your section so much. Video is such a cool, essential part of this paper, and you have made so many incredible videos that memorialize the stories around the District. I’m sorry for not choosing your photo, but just know that I admire your talent and skill so very much. Looking forward to more fun, philosophical discussions soon.
Anna: It’s been such a delight to watch your journey on this paper and to get to know you better. I am so so excited for your copy chief tenure and the amazing things you are going to do in the role. No one deserves it more, and I know you are going to do a wonderful job. You bring so much heart and dedication to copy. Reach out if you ever need anything<3.
Diana and Carly: I’ve loved having you in the basement this volume. You both bring such a fun, exciting energy, and I can’t wait to see what you cook up for the culture section next year. Thanks for the giggles. Diana, let me know if you are ever in Paw Paw :).
Dylan: I hope you are having lots of fun in Prague and are enjoying the free Sundays while they last. Miss you gossiping with you in the basement.
Cristina and Shea: Thank you for trusting me with the opportunity to work for this paper. Thank you for showing me the ropes, helping me learn from my mistakes and making me a better copy editor each week.
Anusha: I’ve loved watching you put the page together this volume. I’ve gotten such an appreciation for the grind that design puts in each week. It’s been fun getting to know you better in the basement. Good luck next year!
Mollie: It’s been so nice having another Michigander in the basement! Thanks for the movie entertainment, and keep up the amazing designs. You all have killed it this year.
Andi: Thank you for letting me join ed board for my last 10 weeks or so on staff. I’m sad I didn’t come over to the ops side sooner. I’ve loved getting to know you better this semester, and I appreciate all you do to turn our thoughts and ideas into a real piece on the page. You are one of the sweetest people I have ever met, and I’m going to miss our weekly meetings. Definitely will be stalking what you and Volume 122’s ed board cook up. Don’t forget to bully the institutions (when they deserve it).
Nick P.: Sorry for frequently fighting you on ed board. I really do admire your takes. Your ability to pound out a thoughtful ops piece in hours amazes me, and you’ve done such a fun job with the culture section the past two volumes. I always look forward to reading your bylines. Also, thank you for going to Amsterdam first and kindly letting me bug you about your experience. It made me feel a lot better to know that I wasn’t completely carving out my own path.
Sage and Arwen: Huge shoutout to both of you for your contributions to staff morale. Thanks for the cookies, sharing Peaches and hosting such a fun St. Patrick’s Day Party. It is very appreciated.
Grace: Thank you for steering this ship with such grace (heh, you’ve never heard that before). Your work ethic is inspiring, and your sense of humor keeps me laughing as the night drags on. The amount of care you show each word — even when it’s 5 a.m. and everyone else just wants to wrap up read-through and go home — is incredible. I honestly don’t know how you do it, but this paper is the amazing paper it is because of your love for it, and your dedication is contagious.
Faith: You are so talented and yet also so grounded, providing a much-needed laugh late into the night. I miss seeing the random, always-juicy This Week in Historys that you used to send. I don’t know where you were pulling them from, but you always killed it.
Ianne: I’ve always admired your ability to balance Hatchet work with the First Ladies. You ask such thoughtful questions at ed board meetings, and your knowledge across sections of the paper is incredible.
Everyone who has ever let me complain about The Hatchet (aka nearly everyone I know): Sorry I never quit like I promised many of you I would, and you had to keep hearing me whine about it instead. Thank you for letting me vent anyway even when you probably knew I was lying about quitting. I appreciate you all keeping me sane and grounded and for consistently feigning shock when I tell you what time prodo ended.
My family: The only reason I’m here writing this. Thank you for all of the love and support. Sending lots of hugs.
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