Running a newspaper 
isn’t easy. After three years, the novelty has worn off, routine starts to creep along, and the stresses of coursework and university applications also conveniently start to sink their teeth in. Reaching out to students, raising money, editing articles, and leading meetings can become overwhelming, and with so many observers, failures can feel crippling. Criticism can be difficult to process. Sometimes you will be rewarded, and many other times you won’t. You get a lot of help from a great team, but there are also times when your plans are confounded by school projects, soccer games, and exams. It’s difficult to balance being firm and being understanding. You feel like you’re always being compared to the editors that came before you.
But you also meet some very cool people. You have fun working, and sometimes you feel downright proud of your work. You learn to make choices and face the consequences.
I’d like to thank all of the managers: Cindy Zeng for dealing with my pickiness; Deifilia To for being responsible; Sophia Song for unsolicited advice and funny emails; David Hao for carrying the Ed Man torch; Shela Qiu for being resilient; David Lu for our upgraded website speed; and Jackie Ho for being my partner in crime. Thanks to Sabrina Bertsch for helping me through sleepless nights, to Mahan and Kasra for their belief in me, and to all the previous managers for making this experience so exciting. Thanks to Student Council for their support. Thanks to Ms. Speirs for putting up with all the trouble we cause her. Thanks to Ms. Goldenberg and Ms. Mazzaferro for all of their efforts. Thank you to Mr. Gilmour and Ms. Ali in the office for helping us deal with money and book rooms. Of course, thank you to all the dedicated staff, and above all, to you, the reader.
This year, we took on many more writers than usual, because we wanted The Reckoner to feel more inclusive. We want to encourage writers to use The Reckoner as a platform for their thoughts, opinions, and stories. We have been humbled to see the amount of interest shown, and we hope even more students decide to share with us next year. That being said, future writers, The Reckoner was not meant to be home to formula or insincerity. I hope that the Fifth Guard will be full of originality, stylistic flair, probing questions, and integrity.
Thank you for everything,
Susie Liu
Editor in Chief
