Duck: Anish Vasudevan

This is weird. Yesterday, I was a high school senior on the phone with then-Sports Editor Andrew Crane. I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I got to Syracuse — work for The Daily Orange. Now, I’m washed, burnt out, ready to say goodbye. 

This is the longest article I’m ever going to write, but definitely the most important. Thank you to everyone I’ve ever interacted with at The Daily Orange over the last two-and-a-half years.

Cole: Chop-chop Cole. I’m very excited to see what you do with the section next semester. We have a good mix of younger and older writers and I know you’re going to bring the section to an even higher level. You’re passionate, organized and best of all, you’re really good at cutting down on a story. That skill is going to come in handy a lot next semester when all of us continue to file articles that are way too long. You probably won’t have time to go to Lucy’s, but enjoy the semester as much as you can. I’m always a call away (or a quick drive over to the Cage). And maybe, just maybe, I’ll cover men’s lacrosse in the spring.

Connor: Thank you for giving me everything I needed this semester and I hope I met your expectations as your successor. I remember seeing you on Marshall Street with KJ, but I don’t think I would’ve known then that you would be one of my closest friends on staff. You are by far the most talented writer we have on staff (no hate to everyone else) and thank you for carrying my budget at times this semester. I miss the rave hour at the end of production and I’m sorry for not posting the A3 that one time. I’m excited to cover basketball with you and Tony this year, and seeing you rain some more 3s in Media Cup. Smile a little more, you look too serious. 

Hank: “But yeah, no.” Shout out to Michael for actually bringing this up, by every time I hear this phrase I know I’m about to get one of the greatest takes about some film that I haven’t seen yet. Thank you for all the work you did with the section this semester, I don’t know how I could’ve gotten through it without you and Cole. Sorry about the dishwasher soap debacle again at the Cage, but it’s awesome that we’re neighbors and that you love Daft Punk as much as me and my roommates. We’ve come a long way since our World Cinema class freshman year. Let’s watch some more films soon. DME Hank will be revolutionary. Here’s to more pig stories.

Roshan: Yes, I’ve probably followed everything you’ve done since sophomore year of high school. You are like an older brother to me and by far the best advice you ever gave me was to come to Syracuse and join the D.O. I’ll always look up to you and I hope you start writing about sports again since you’re really good at it. Thanks for checking in on me this semester, always reading my stories and telling me if something was wrong with a tweet. Can’t wait for you to come back next semester, it will be weird seeing you graduate from college in the spring. Before then, I’ll probably see you at Beauchamps. 

Crane: Thank you for actually taking me seriously at 17, I probably wouldn’t have. The first time I read with you, over Zoom in the middle of Day Hall, was one of the most important meetings I’ve had in my life. I definitely thought I was a good writer, but you quickly showed me how much work I still had. I don’t think there’s anyone who loves the craft as much as you do, and I wouldn’t be the writer I am today without all the help you gave me early on. Long live the long form. 

KJ: Thank you for reaching out and wanting to talk to me when I was in high school, making me feel more at home once I actually reached campus. You were probably the harshest editor I’ve ever had, but I learned so much during your DME reign. It’s hard to put into words the impact you had on me as a person and a journalist. But from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I’ll still never be able to tell if you’re being serious or just messing with me. 

Skyler: After covering women’s lacrosse with you as a freshman, I was hyped when you hired me as one of your assistants. Thanks for all your advice, good vibes and great music last fall. You allowed me to become the writer I wanted to be, letting me write a random story about Dino’s playlist and a more important story about race and sports. I never would have pushed myself without your support, and I won’t be able to thank you for that enough. 

Tony: Thank you for literally carrying the budget in the first month of the semester. You’re a tank. We’ve come a long way since being in the back of Mira’s car or when you busted your head at KJ’s. It was strange not having you or Connor in-house this semester, but thanks for visiting often. Women’s basketball was a blast with you and Cirino so I’m even more excited for this next semester of being on a beat together. I miss “friend.” Let’s rave.

Cirino: I missed your jokes, Madagascar memes and impressions this semester, but I’m glad that I got to work with you on staff for a whole year. Thank you for being flexible this semester and writing some features for football, which I think were some of the best stories you’ve done at the paper. Last spring was stressful, but I had so much fun on two beats with you, laughing instead of doing work most of the time. Can’t wait to see you take over the chef world. I still can’t believe we watched Blue Valentine. Please keep writing, you’re a really f*cking good at it. Fair rephrase?

Gaurav, Aro, Roshan (again), Skyler (honorary): Long live The Daily Brown. 

Richard: We’re washed, Brichard. It’s very strange to see you in charge of everything, considering the fact we were shotgunning beers at the end of our first semester in-house. It felt like the Spiderman meme seeing you in Sadler Hall freshman year, both of realizing that we had common friends. It always makes me happy to randomly bump into you. You’ve done an amazing job this semester and I’m excited to see what you do in the spring. I hope India and England play again in the world cup. There’s no way England is winning. 

Maggie: I remember meeting you for the first time in the digital nook, thinking it was strange that you actually wanted to talk to everyone. But I ended up doing the same thing after you left house for a year, and you did the same thing this semester as managing editor. You care about every person involved in the newspaper and none of us can thank you enough for that. The Daily Orange won’t be the same without you. Thanks for trapping me in the back of a car with Tony and Richard. Let’s play telestrations again. 

Siron: Great job this semester as DME. You’re caring, hilarious and I’m glad to have known you for the last few semesters. Thanks for checking headlines and tweets at obscene hours, even in class every week when the field hockey write up came in. Given our luck, I’ll probably randomly see you next semester in another class. 

Tyler: Currently, I’m writing this with you sitting next to me in our ethics class. Neither of us are paying attention. I remember seeing you smiling all the time in another class at the beginning of sophomore year and wondering why you were so happy all the time. Thanks for coming onto staff this semester, brightening up the room each time you walked in. Most importantly, thanks for carrying our Media Cup team. Please write some more features, you’re getting pretty good at it. And one last thing: Lebron James sucks. 

Piggy: I wish I had gotten a few more semesters with you in-house. You’re really good at your job, hilarious and a talented writer. The red JBL speaker saved a lot of boring nights in the house and opened even more conversations about the music we both love. Even though you had a few Crane file times this year, we made deadline. Have fun working for the dark side.

Spooz: Spooooooooozzzzz. Again, you didn’t invent the phrase “in copy,” but I’m glad that we share the same love for Drake. You’ve come a long way since we first read together in the archives room. I know you’re done with journalism as a concept, but I hope you write a few more articles before you graduate since you’re really talented. Please improve on your drawing skills and keep your Twitter running. It’s been a good ride. 

Wyatt: Our time together was limited, but thanks for joining my staff this semester. It was great to see you write about more than just cross country staffers last spring, and you did an even better job on two beats this semester. Keep coming up with unique story ideas, I think you have a skill with those. Don’t fall asleep next semester, Cole will be mad. 

Daily Orange Sports Alumni: Thank you to everyone who ever hopped on the phone with me, met me in-person or emailed me about some advice. Knowing that a lot of you have gone through the same problems as me kept me going throughout this semester. I hope to speak to a lot more of you soon.  

Rest of the D.O. Sports Staff: Thank you all for being flexible with me this semester, checking back in if I forgot to respond to a certain message. For the freshmen, I hope you learned a lot and that you continue to want to work for The Daily Orange in the future. Y’all are eager, curious and hard-working and I can’t wait to read more of all of your stories.  

Morgan, Megan, Meghan: Sorry for springing things on all of you at the last minute for In the Huddle and guides. Your work made our sports section look even better than it actually was and I can’t thank you guys enough for that.  

Kyle, Rachel, Rainu, Micaela: We f*cking made it. Y’all were inspiring this semester, making me want to work even harder after seeing each of your sections churn out amazing content. Rachel, I will no longer be culture’s side hoe. 

Adam: I remember covering that cold, windy men’s soccer game as freshmen before both going back to Day Hall. I loved our run-ins there and had even more of a good time when you came into the house the following semester. See you at some basketball games and I’ll finally be free to play some intramural basketball. Enjoy working for the dark side. 

Mira: The time we spent before last summer meant a lot to me, you basically gave me a second home while I was covering training camp. Thanks for adopting me into the D.O. family with Maggie and giving me one of the best story ideas I’ve ever received. Lmk if you need another date to formal, and I’m looking forward to finally having more time to pull up to your porch. 

Abby: I’m still proud that I came up with one of the greatest nicknames of all time with A-dubs. I don’t know why we weren’t closer when we both did digital, but you became one of my closest friends in-house during your DME reign. You’re hilarious, inspiring and wrote one of the greatest D.O. stories of all-time. See you down the line and please visit again soon. 

Louis: You gave me the opportunity, and the confidence, to try something I hadn’t done before with album reviews. I didn’t even know I could write for culture but now it’s something I’m looking forward to so much more of for the rest of my time here. Unfortunately, we couldn’t pull off some Billy Cunningham-Wilt Chamberlain stuff at Media Cup, but you’re a legend on the court. Sorry again for distracting your staff. 

Sydney: Nothing will beat the spirit breaks from the fall, those helped me get through a lot of stressful nights even though they made Louis very mad. You’re one of the creative and talented writers I’ve met and I’m looking forward to reading many more art columns from you over the next semester. 

Mark: Your visits every semester to code the guides are some of my favorite nights ever in-house. You have one of the most important jobs out of everyone at the paper, so thank you for all the work you’ve done since freshman year. I’ll see them at the basketball court sometime soon and probably at the cage. Let’s jam out to some LCD Soundsystem sometime. 

Chris: I’m glad you opened up a little bit as we sat across from each other in the digital nook, my first semester wouldn’t have been the same without you. I’ll see you at the next D.O. party Dax. 

Nick: We will defeat WAER. 

Paul Thomas Anderson: Thank you PTA. 

FEƎM: “How was work?” was a question I probably never gave a good answer to every time I came home at an obscene hour. But after many production nights, seeing you guys either at Day Hall, Watson Hall or the Cage was the best end to a day. I’m sorry I had to bring my laptop everywhere, even pulling it out in a restaurant, but you guys never gave me sh*t and understood how much I loved working at the D.O. I will now have infinite time to watch films and take as many trips to the city as possible. Have fun abroad boys, you all have a singular sound. 

Dad, Ma, Nikita: Dad and Ma, thanks for allowing me to go to the opposite side of the country to pursue something which you both know nothing about. Dad, thanks for reading almost every story I write, I’ll be looking forward to even more clap reactions on Instagram. Nikki, thanks for giving me a home nearby and I can’t wait to see you change the world. I should have called all of you more over the last few years, and I’ll try to make up for that in the rest of my time at Syracuse. Thank you for the endless support.