by Jordan Berardi

The Quirk: I am, and will forever be, in love with the Dart

It comes on Thursdays. Once a month, on a Thursday. Far less often than I wish. It’s twenty beautiful pages. The ink is perfectly positioned on each page exactly where it should be. The words on each page tell a story. The pictures are engraved in minds. The graphics are flawless. There’s been three this year. More, but not enough, to come. The simply perfect mixture of text, photography, graphic design and love is artfully placed in each issue of the Dart.

The Dart is the light of my life. Few know how important it is to me. I’ll admit, I’m so incredibly annoying about it. When a new issue drops itself on the floors of Donnelly, I’m the first to graze my small fingers across the front. I reprimand advisors to force them upon their advisees. If one of my advisees walks out without one, I won’t lie, they’re shunned for a few days.

This past week I went to San Antonio with a large portion of the Dart staff, as well as some Teresian staffers. We’re kind of like a small little family, no matter how cheesy that sounds. You can argue our family-like characteristics don’t even add up to that of a sports team, but you’re wrong. We go through the same blood, sweat and tears. The tears come when the page designers sit at publication night (the Monday and Tuesday before an issue gets sent to press, when we work and work and work until the issue is completely perfect) and our pages seem to look like completely utter trash. But then Emily McCann quietly stands behind us and in ten minutes, our page looks as if it’s been kissed by angels and rainbows and a whole lot of really pretty things. That’s actually probably just me, because it’s only my page that looks horrible at the start of publication night.

The blood? That comes when you print off your page to send to the editors for a final okay and it comes off Mr. Thomas’ printer and it’s literally five hundred degrees in temperature. Not only is your hand burnt while you eagerly try to get it off the printer after it’s spit out, but your eagerness won you a paper cut.

The sweat comes when we’re sitting there on our netbooks the night before a deadline trying to put the final touches on our story just to impress Natalie Fitts. We sit there on GoogleDocs (I refuse to call it Drive, whatever) and wait for someone to creepily open our story, but we hold them hostage and chat them via our document and ask what we could do better. Again, that’s probably just me (and Sabrina Redlingshafer).

I love the Dart. Newspaper is often the one thing I look forward to in a day. When I know newspaper is my next class, I sit there antsy and excited. Every single day. You’d think the excitement would die down after a week or so, but no. Newspaper class is the highlight of my day. Publication nights are the highlight of a week. But the day the issue comes out? That’s the highlight of my month. All the work the photographers, writers, page designers, editors and web staff do is shown.

Walking across the Quad with a stack of a minimum of six freshly printed Darts in my hand is such a proud moment. Not that I’m proud to see what I’ve done in there, but just because it was all of us. Every single staffer contributes to every single cycle, whether they have their work published in it or not. Every single staffer is a huge part of the Dart. I’m so proud of every issue that comes out.

This part could be creepy, and you know what? So be it. But each and every staff member contributes to the overall success of the Dart and DartNewsOnline. So here’s my shout out to every single staffer. I love you all…like actually. I don’t even know a lot of you personally, but I still love you.

To Emily McCann: I am genuinely obsessed with you. You can pull off any outfit no matter how obscure, not that any have been, but you know what I mean. And our moment in the hotel room before the dance when we got a picture was the highlight of the trip. “I love you, remember that.” I do.

To Natalie Fitts: You’re probably the biggest dork I know and you’re sitting next to me right now. I’m not letting you read it though. But we sit and talk about Dart whenever we hang out. You’re the best grammar and copy editor I know. I love your guts.

To Emma Wheatley: I’ve Moodled you a few times in actual stress and if I came off touchy, I am so sorry. You’re extremely talented with your photography and your advice ultimately is the best decision.

To Anna Leach: In the beginning of the year you were literally my savior helping this blog take off. You know everything there is to know about DNO and you are honestly super talented with it. The times I’ve texted you at 6:59 panicking about my blog looking horrible, you’re always there two seconds later to fix it. You rock.

To Lauren Langdon: You’re so cute. You pop up at the most random times just to say hello and that you like what we’re doing. I like how you like pandas. Me too.

To Maddie Knopke: I wish you were in my newspaper class because I barely ever see you, but you’re so cute. Your Buried Life video was flawless.

To Megan Lewis: I wanted to run that picture of you as COTTON CANDY (!!!!!!!!!!!) on Last Look but ultimately we decided not to. Anyway, that costume idea was the best, in my eyes.

To Mickey Redlingshafer: You’ve intimidated me since freshman year as we sat in journalism together. If you laughed at something I said, I beamed for the rest of the day. Nothing’s changed…

To Lane Maguire: We bonded in San Antonio. At that dance? Just…go us. We rocked that. And I also feel self-conscious when I complain about having to walk up three flights of stairs when you run like 3000 miles daily.

To Lindsey Valdiviez: 303 lovin. I miss it already. You are and will always be my “you know what.” I can’t say it on here because that would blow our cover. But I love you and you’re my nugget. 303 forever.

To Jordan Allen: I used your name in my first blog when I said you were the only other person in the school with my name. I’ve always wondered if you knew. Anyway, I really like your name.

To Shaeffer Smith: OH MY GOSH. My blog buddy. Just want to say I love you. TO EVERYONE: look out for our joint blog during Christmas time. I want your job next year. I really, truly do. I love you.

To Adrianna Ohmes: You’re just always a ray of sunshine. I like your blog because it’s different from the rest, because it’s pictures. And you compliment me frequently and legit it makes my day sometimes. Luh ya.

To Emma Willibey: I haven’t said this to you, but you do a really great job with In the Mix. You took it on as a first year staffer, and you do amazing every time. Also, I just read your opinion piece and your writing is exceptional.

To Grace Hodes: You scare me. I’ve never talked to you, but I mean maybe I’ll say hi sometime. I don’t even think you know me. Ah.

To Sara-Jessica Dilks: I love you. Our continuous talks about your next idea for centerspread make my day. We probably talk more about newspaper in algebra than we should, but I love it. I haven’t said this because it’s cheesy and weird but you’re amazing at what you do. Bye.

To Libby Hyde: You’re my blog editor and you deal with my sometimes late blogs. Like this one. LOVE ME, LIBBY.

To Cassie Florido: Your blog is really funny. I like it. And I’m horrible at sports.

To Kathleen Keaveny: You’re really nice…all the time. And you’re a really solid photographer. And one of these times, I’ll win an Instagram contest. Watch out.

To Sara Meurer: AWWW MY BOO. I love ya more than life. Every time we see each other I think we acknowledge each other. I am going to miss you a lot next year actually…aw shucks.

To Menley Brennan: I enjoy the fact that you went on stage at NSPA. I love ya, Men.

To Leigh Campbell: You intimidate me even though you’re a year younger than me. And I also wish I had a twin so I’m kind of jealous.

To Maggie Rellihan: You’re the light of my life. Carlson advisory for life, bffs too. But actually, I love you.

To Rosie Hutchison: We bond over minimally finished pages on the first night of publication night. Somehow we always get it done. And if I do say so myself, your page is always just flawless.

To Sabrina Redlingshafer: Oh heck ya!!!!!!!! 303 for life. Can’t wait for Boston. No matter what, we are having the same exact room. No matter who else is there. We should start working on our video. Oh heck ya!!!!!!

To Siobhan Miller: I’ve never talked to you, but I’m not prepared to say you don’t intimidate me.

To Katie Parkinson: You’re a genius. You’ve put my story on your page twice now, and every time you make it look amazing. A&E is rockin’.

To Hannah Bredar: What do I even say about you? Plane ride. Poke. Hello Dolly. Hangman. Best friends. Love me.

To Grace Sly: I’ve never talked to you before, so you must be sly. HAHA, get it? Ugh.

To Caitlin Fletcher: I only like you a little. Jk, I love you. I’m going to miss insulting you next year.

To Taylor Steen: LunaPastry for life. That was just a solid assignment. I did eat that brownie the next day, and you were right, it was great.

To Christina Elias: We shared a few conversations in San Antonio. Let’s do it again next year.

To Emily Wemhoff: EMWEM what can I say? You hated doing features at the beginning of the year and it was almost comical how much you voiced that opinion. But you rock at it. Go life.

To Madeline Best: We sit together in history and our occasional talks about Dart make it exciting. And when I realize the Dart is there during the last class and I always hyperventilate, you got muh back.

To Cecilia Butler: 303 life. We bonded. Can’t wait for Boston. When Sabrina and I were annoying you, your endearing pleas for us to shut up made everything funnier. And your lovely ways you woke us up, “GUYS IT’S 6:30…GUYS!!!!! IT’S 6:30!” Love you.

To Caroline Fiss: Your videography skills are top notch. You taught me more about editing videos in literally half a minute than I could’ve taught myself in three years. YOU GO!

And finally, to Mr. Thomas: I don’t think you get enough credit. What would we do without you? You give us grounds to report on whatever we want, and you’re with us every step of the way. You push us to take risks, which only pulls us further along. You are always our number one fan, no matter what. We all love you. And your story about Maddie Horton and the man at McDonald’s was the highlight of the hypothetical. I can’t wait for Boston. But basically, I just can’t wait until the next issue of the Dart.

PLEASE CHECK THIS OUT ON DNO: Some AMAZING!! photography, seriously, go look. 

Their Quirk: Responding to each other’s names

Seniors Natalie Winterman and Nicole Sakoulas sent me this Moodle message from silent study, I read it, laughing aloud. I did get a detention. It’s okay though. “This should’ve been in the best friends article so ugh little late but here’s the thing: since we are together so much EVERYONE mixes us up. I’m not exaggerating. Teachers, parents, pets, friends. EVERYONE. Natalie goes by “niz” (an extremely clever name yours truly made) and we literally get referred to as “natalie and niz” like what? That doesn’t even make sense. Even some of our best friends mix us up, yet we respond like its normal. We don’t even correct people anymore because we know the mistake just won’t get fixed. Sometimes we give other people disapproving looks but never outright say anything. We have ONE class together this year and teachers still mix up our names. We don’t look alike, I’m a lot funnier than her and we STILL get confused. Xoxoxoxox, Natalie and Niz (Nicole).”