Letter From The Editor: It’s my Last Issue – It’s Time to Up the Cheese Factor

Greetings IW readers! I have no idea where the term has gone but I’ve got to tell you, I can’t believe that this is my last issue. Considering how much work has gone into this issue, I’m hoping that you will use this medium as your method of procrastination in studying for exams; trust me, The Tin Soldier (that is an eight page insert this term) is definitely worth a read.
I’ve strived to keep some semblance of a common theme and coherency for all the editorials published this term. My goal has been to tackle a common problem that plagues the engineering student body and expand on it in a logical fashion; some instalments have, of course, been better at achieving this than others. From what I gather, I tend to write better editorials when I get more sleep. The only exception to this was my last instalment involving the engineering dating scene. I don’t even know how those conversations started considering that I was working on the paper and my Fourth Year Design Project. Either way, I hope you enjoyed that one because I definitely enjoyed writing it in my semi-sane state.
Besides the job of publishing the paper, each editor has undertaken a personal project for the long term betterment of the paper. For example, Jon, the EIC for Fall 2011, has taken it upon himself to transfer all the older issues into digital files so that we have a way to access the older papers without risking damage to the paper copies. He’s done an absolutely amazing job so far and I’ve loved reading all the sample issues sent to me from the 90’s; I think that the engineers from that era are quite a bit crazier than our bunch. Jacob Terry, EIC for Spring 2012, has worked really hard to revamp the IW website so that it’s a lot more user-friendly and is a lot prettier than it was before. As part of this project, he also took the articles published under the old software, PROPS, and has moved them to WordPress (the current system used to sync the articles to the website) so that we can have archives that can go back to the early 2000’s.
For my personal project, I resolved to heavily recruit the incoming first years to get involved with the paper and to ensure that they are exposed to more than just article writing. While this meant kicking out most of my classmates from the weekly meetings, it allowed for the first years to be less inhibited in taking on more responsibility in the paper. Even though I had to spend some time training them to use the Adobe software to layout the paper or to teach them how to use their respective WordPress accounts to do some copy-editing, it meant that they could step up and lend a hand when the workload this term got too heavy. I’m going to digress now by saying this: upper year Nanos, you are bat-sh*t crazy to think that 3B is easier than 3A; you were totally wrong about that. In addition to that, I’ve also strived to add more variety in the articles we publish this term to widen our audience reader-ship. Finally, outside of the paper, especially with the ridiculous amount of advertising that has happened this term, I’m working towards upgrading the hardware in the office to make the lives of future EIC’s easier, especially during production weekends. Hopefully, with the appropriate approvals, we’ll have some snazzy new equipment to work with in future terms.
Between Jacob and I, the EIC last term, we’ve done an overhaul of the paper’s layout design. Our goal is to make the publication consistent throughout the entire year because we have seen apparent distinctions between the designs in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ societies paper. With the culmination of this term, Jacob and I will work together to create “Style Guide” that will be a reference for future EIC’s as to how the style of the paper should be; of course, it’s up to them if they want to change it.
In terms of the content published this term, I have been proud to say that we’ve had some really great ideas come about this term. For instance, The Short Short Review has been a great hit as it exposes the reader to alternative sources of entertainment while adhering to the short time commitment that is complementary to the average engineering student schedule. Also, Music through the (p)Ages has been a great addition to the paper as it explores various genres and eras of music that you wouldn’t explore otherwise (not to mention the great suggestions it gives for The Iron Warrior playlist). The Highly Variable X Recipe column has also been a great read as it caters to the needs of our readership while injecting a dose of quirkiness. With so many submissions from EWB, Topz (with a Z), T-Cubed, and Future of Gaming, we had a great variety of topics covered each issue. In addition to that, I need to extend a special thank-you to Prof. Gordon Stubley for being so involved in reaching out to the engineering body; it means a lot to us that he’s willing to keep us informed on all things education.
Now, for the mushy stuff: I would like to thank Jacob Terry for being more than involved in the paper’s production even though he’s in Guelph for co-op. I appreciate all the nagging and poking you did to keep me on my toes, even though it meant my hating your guts on Monday mornings. Somehow, you always appeased me with unicorns and rainbows; I still don’t understand that. You’ve also been amazing at picking up any outstanding articles and making sure that they are included in the paper (even if it meant writing two or three articles per issue). Just looking at the Gmail chats we’ve had makes me think that you are both sweet and insane for keeping such a close eye on me.
Next, I’d like to thank Mary Bland, the business manager in the EngSoc Office, for being absolutely amazing in everything you do. Doing my job this term would have been a lot harder without you and god knows, I’d have been a wreck if you were not there. Mary, you’re an awesome lady!
My Iron Warrior crew this term has also been unbelievable in making my life a whole lot easier. A special shout-out needs to be made to the army of copy editors (which are too many to name individually) who have been known to power through twenty-some-odd articles in about an hour when I give them the word/signal. A special thank you is in order to Josh Kalpin and Leah Kristufek for being the most involved in this process especially when I send my editorial for editing Monday morning; you are saints for putting up with me. These production weekends would be a lot longer if you guys weren’t around. My layout editors, especially Lucas Hudson, have been great about coming in every production weekend to help me with the paper especially on days where I needed to juggle my school work and finishing the paper. Finally, my circulation editor, Vincent Heymans, has been awesome about taking on the responsibility of ensuring that all the papers got distributed (even it meant trekking to V1 and MKV with his scooter in the evening with three bundles of papers when I asked); thank you! I could keep thanking people on and on but it’s late and my fingers are getting tired. Let’s just say, thank you to all the staff, contributors, and anyone involved in the production of the paper for making my job so much easier; I love you IW family!
On to the announcements: the Iron Pen award is given to the contributor who writes the highest number of words throughout the entire term. This Fall, the winner is, by a landslide, BLANK for writing an astonishing BLANK words this term. Considering that I often ‘volun-told’ you to write things for me, it’s definitely well-deserved. For the Editor’s Awards, given to those who have gone above and beyond in the call of duty, Josh Kalpin and Leah Kristufek are very deserving this term as they have been at my side for every production weekend to assist me in any way possible. Finally, I would like to announce the next EIC for the upcoming Spring term, Lucas Hudson. I’m sure you’ll do an amazing job and considering your work ethic and your ideas that you would like to implement during your term, I’m sure you’ll leave your mark (and a piece of your soul) with this paper. Don’t worry, I’ll be more than happy to poke and prod to keep you on your toes, for your sake!
If I’ve missed any thank-you’s, I’m incredibly sorry; I’m sleep-deprived and have a bad memory to begin with. If not now, I’m sure to appreciate you and your contributions sometime this weekend. Before I start shedding some tears, while writing my last lines as the Editor-in-Chief, I am going to say that I’m so happy to have gone through this experience (even though it meant going slightly crazy in the interim) and would not have had this term play out in any other way. If you want to chat with me or anyone else involved with The Iron Warrior, feel free to email me at iwarrior@uwaterloo.ca, send me a message at facebook.com/TheIronWarrior, or just stop by the IW Office. As always, I’m happy to hear from you and would love to answer any questions you may have. I’m signing off for the last time (*tear*) and wish you luck for your final exams! Bye! 😀