It feels like a time of change. Not just for me, but for the world too. Call it anticipation, trepidation, or even pollen. The United States continues to veer towards absurd fascism, Canada just had a major federal election, and wars and potential conflicts continue to bloom and ebb worldwide. All this while the climate continues to burn, and AI is doing exactly what we all knew it would.

However, those things aren’t within my capacity to change, so I won’t bore you with my musings on the matter. Instead, allow me to tell you about some things that are within the scope of my influence and have been on my mind recently: Me, Myself, and Arthur.

I’m doing swell, thank you for asking. This last year has been a great one for me. I’ve grown professionally, I’ve grown personally, I’ve gotten to meet great people and learn from them, and—as you may have inferred by the format of this article—I’ve gotten a promotion. 

It’s almost as if my prefrontal cortex is developing. 

My personal life is going pretty good too. I’ve got D&D sessions and boardgames to play, books to read, and people to interrogate. I’ve finally cracked the art of cooking (with spices and everything!), even if I haven’t fully mastered the art of cracking an egg. I’ve been eating healthier, going to the gym, cycling, finding books that both interest and educate me.

You know that delicious sense of productivity and satisfaction that you get when you’ve had a good day, or did a particularly good job with an assignment? That’s the best way that I can describe it. That’s how I’ve been.

Arthur, too, has been good. We’ve got a whole new regime at the helm. There’s David King, the guy using the litter box at your child's school, Louanne Morin, known for spending her time at boring TCSA meetings, and me. Avid readers might remember my writing about my staunch support of lesbianism. Together, we form a terrific trio the likes of which Arthur hasn’t seen since the halcyon days of Vol. 58. 

May we hold to our covenant, and zealously uphold the traditions of our institution.

In the 60 years Arthur has been around, it has gone through ups and downs, fiscal fuckups and austerity, and wild variations in both quality and content. The one thing its always managed to maintain was its identity. Whether Arthur’s voice is that of radical progressivism or merely the whining of dumb commies is up to you.

Ultimately, it falls to us to show you where we’ll fall. I’ve been thinking a lot about Arthur’s legacy recently, in light of the 60th anniversary and my recent promotion. To me, Arthur’s onus, before anything else, is to serve the students and residents of Peterborough. We are an opportunity for writers to grow, a source of information, and our own strange little community. We hold a special place in the area, one of both scorn and occasional praise. We’ve annoyed and antagonized, educated and entertained. Arthur is a place to experiment, to try things, to succeed and to fail. 

I joined Arthur because I enjoyed reading it. I loved its outlandish attitude, and the way it spoke to students. It wasn’t some prissy liberal-art student rehashing Instagram posts into print, but what felt like real people, telling you about real events. 

I applied the night of the hiring deadline, with a terrible resume and an excellent cover letter ranting about the dumbass who hit my car. For my first article, I had the incredible opportunity to cover “The Deed of The Red Knight,” a historical re-enactment that involved people dressing up in medieval army kit and beating the shit out of each other. 

Since then, I’ve gotten to interview porn professors, wizards, and roller-blading lesbians. I can only hope that my next projects are as delightful, and that I can relay it to all of you.

Though we plow forward into an uncertain future (hey, did you hear our university is running a $24 million deficit?), I remain optimistic.

We have a strong editorial team, Evan’s sass, and gumption.

Yeehaw.

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