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Ducks

Duck: Anish Vasudevan

Asst. Digital Editor Spring 2021 | Asst. Sports Editor Fall 2021, Spring 2022 | Sports Editor Fall 2022 | Editor-in-chief Fall '23-Spring '24

Flynn Ledoux | Illustration Editor

OK let’s do this again. There’s plenty of people missing from this list. Thank you to everyone I’ve ever interacted with at The Daily Orange over the last four years.

Stephanie Wright: I didn’t take you seriously when you wrote in my notebook that you would be the next EIC for The D.O., but I’m glad you had that much confidence in your ability at the end of last year. There’s no way to sugarcoat how hard this job is going to be. Still, I know from your semester as news editor that you’re ready. If you ever need any help at all I’m always a phone call away. And this job can be fun if you make it. Don’t stress too much.

Kyle: We made it. I stand by the fact that I don’t have a hard job and it’s because of you. Thank you for taking on the brunt of the editorial work, making sure we never got sued. And we didn’t! I’m not going to lie, I’m scared every time I get a call or text from you. But I’m glad when it’s just you sending me a TikTok or a tweet only us two would find hilarious. On my personal mode it’s literally just you and my girlfriend, you really are my work husband. I’m going to miss your cackle and your excitement when you have a new song to show me. Thank you for writing the greatest stories of the year even if they were the length of a Tolstoy novel.

Sophie: Thank you for joining our management last year. It’s been weird this semester without all the theater songs, laughs and hamster dance scatting, but I’m glad you finally got some time off. You are one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met and you brought a level of creativity to the newspaper which can’t be replaced. I know we had some tough conversations last year about our social media with everything going on in the world. But I’m glad we had those chats and I think you did a great job building our social media even more. I want to go to a Woo Sox game.



Stef: You just randomly spawned in my apartment after my time in-house was already done. I didn’t know back then that I was going to come back and do this job but we quickly became great friends over the course of the semester and now you’re like the little sister I never had. Thanks for letting Kyle and I convince you to do two jobs. Please don’t take on like four more responsibilities next year. Can’t wait to play tennis with you this summer.

Richard: We’ve come a long way from freshman year. Now I’m washed too. I can’t believe you let me take over your job after I broke your laptop with a tennis ball. Thanks for giving me such an easy transition into the role. I can say now that I’m glad you convinced me to do it in food.com last year. It was nice to see you out and about, finally taking some well deserved rest. Thanks for picking up the occasional phone call when I needed advice. Those meant a lot to me.

Cooper: I can’t believe the kid who only owns Chicago Bears clothing is going to be second in command. Hopefully your run as managing editor will be better than the Bears’ recent record. Seriously, you’ve improved so much since I was begging you to cover field hockey as a freshman. It’s been fun being on a beat with you this semester and you’re crazy for covering a beat while being in management. You’re already one of the best writers and editors we’ve got. Keep that up next year.

Bridget: I remember Santiago and Stephanie telling me there was a potential designer who could step in as PD and I feel like you had the job before I even met you. There’s no way I could’ve predicted how quickly we became friends, it’s probably because we both love Drake. You scared me a lot this past year, but you amazed me just as much with your designs. We all had complete trust in you and you delivered every time. I’ve learned my lesson of smoking weed with you but maybe I’ll do it once more before we leave.

Zak: I think you finally know how to spell. I remember seeing the same enthusiasm I had as a freshman in you, and then taking it all away with our first read in Schine. I’m glad you stayed on an extra semester, I think you’ve grown so much this spring. You’re more than ready to be sports editor. It’s a lot of work but I know you can handle it.

Aiden: Dannn. Thanks for quickly getting involved with The D.O. as a freshman and it’s been great to see you grow since I left the house the first time. We had a lot of laughs with Sophie last semester and even more this spring. I’m going to miss the cringe wave or peace sign every time you walk into the house. Good luck in Cape Cod this summer.

Justin: I know last semester was hell for you but I’m glad you got through it. You’re one of the most creative writers we have on staff and you’ve shown that since you started as a freshman. Keep that energy.

Jeppy: I did not expect to get so close with the random sports dig assistant. You’re a ball of energy and have already shown you have the creative chops to write excellent features. Thanks for listening to the EIC tax.

Cole: Chop-chop Cole. You did a great job as sports editor, thanks for training all of the freshmen we recruited together in the fall. You’re passionate, organized and best of all, you’re really good at cutting down on a story. I’m glad you finally got to go to Lucy’s whenever you wanted and it was fun running into you there a few times.

Connor: 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. And there was no way I would’ve predicted that we’d see Jim Boeheim retire together (or that you’d be in the passenger seat when I got a reckless driving ticket). You are by far the most talented writer we have on staff and thank you for carrying my budget when I was sports editor. I miss the rave hour at the end of production. Let’s go to another Caps game sometime.

Hank: “But yeah, no.” Shout out to Miker for actually bringing this up, but 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. 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.

Tyler: I remember seeing you smiling all the time in class at the beginning of sophomore year and wondering why you were so happy all the time. I found out soon after. I know sports editor was hard sometimes but you apologized too much at times. You did a great job. I’m going to miss playing basketball with you and I’m so happy we went out on top with Media Cup. I’m also going to miss editing your unique writing style and just our everyday conversations in house. One last thing: Lebron James sucks.

Roshan: Yes, I’ve probably followed everything you’ve done since my sophomore year of high school. This latest step for me as EIC was different, but thanks for supporting me through that transition. You are like an older brother to me and by far the best advice you gave me was to come to Syracuse. Thanks for always checking in on me and I hope to keep meeting up with you while you’re in Boston. See you at Beauchamps soon.

Crane: Thank you for actually taking me seriously at 17, I probably wouldn’t have. The first time I read with you over Zoom 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: 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 at school this semester, but thanks for visiting as much as you could last semester. We had some fun times covering women’s basketball and I hope everything is going well with Jackson Holliday’s team. I miss “friend.” Let’s rave.

Cirino: Really didn’t have to rewrite this part. I still miss your jokes, Madagascar memes and impressions, but I’m glad that I got to work with you on staff for a whole year. I can’t believe Can’t wait to see you take over the chef world. I still can’t believe we watched Blue Valentine. Fair rephrase?

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

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 you cared about every person involved in the newspaper and none of us can thank you enough for that. Thanks for trapping me in the back of a car with Tony and Richard.

Siron: Thanks for checking headlines and tweets at obscene hours when you were DME, even in class every week when the field hockey write up came in. I don’t know why we’ve had almost every Newhouse class together but it’s always nice to see a friendly face at the start of every semester. Can’t wait to see what you do next.

Nate: I’m glad I got to meet you in MND 305 before we started working in house together last semester. I can’t say enough about what a great job you did with the culture section, pushing everyone to be their best within it. Thanks for making some celebrity appearances while you’re abroad and starting the podcast with Hank. I’m going to miss our conversations about movies at the start of every production or the latest Ringer podcast. Still can’t believe you got Zach Baron on a Zoom with us.

Kate Kelley: The house was superbly quiet this semester without you. Thanks for making your trips upstairs whenever you could and I miss running into you outside of the house at whatever function or a FEƎM event. Do a little bit more work for The D.O. when you’re back, I’ll be looking forward to your next Irish Festival coverage. News. Purdue.

Sophia Lucina: Thanks for joining The D.O. last year when we needed help at the worst time. I wish you wrote more stories but I’m glad to call you my friend and have you see me work inside 230 Euclid. You brought the vibes up every time you were at the house. Love.

Maxine, Cassie: You both definitely have the hardest jobs at the paper. Thank you for putting all your effort in to make sure that we had photographers at every single event and pushed to get photos for stories when I didn’t think they needed them. Thanks for reviving the galleries and cropping so many slides when we needed them.

Kendall, Kelly, Olivia: Thank you all for your work this semester, I know how hard y’all worked juggling all the responsibilities you have. Kendall and Kelly, you both repeatedly delivered the best stories on a weekly basis while guiding your whole staff. Olivia, this might have been the hardest semester for any opinion editor. Thanks for fighting for your columnists and broadening the scope of our newspaper even more.

Nora: Thank you for producing some of the best illustrations on your own and also finding a great group of contributors. Out of most of the designers I think you had the biggest jump to your job before last semester, but you quickly became a master at it. I can’t reiterate enough how vital your job was to our success. Thanks for all the help.

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

Piggy: I wish you started working in-house a few semesters earlier but I’m glad you did at some point. Even though you had a few Crane files, the stories were worth the wait. Thanks for checking in on me throughout my tenure as EIC. And it’s been awesome to see what you’ve done from afar with syracuse.com and the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Keep up the great work.

Spooz: Spooooooooozzzzz. Again, you didn’t invent the phrase “in copy,” but I’m glad that we shared the same love for Drake. 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. It was great to see you climb up the beats and now be a lacrosse aficionado.

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. Thanks for doing the sportscast this semester and being one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.

Mira: Thanks for adopting me into the D.O. family with Maggie and giving me one of the best story ideas I’ve ever received.

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. And you wrote one of the greatest D.O. stories of all-time. Thanks for visiting this spring.

Louis: You gave me the opportunity to try something I hadn’t done before with album reviews. I don’t think I would’ve been EIC if you hadn’t given me the confidence to write for other sections.

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.

Mark: Where do I even start? Thanks for making sure I didn’t mess this thing up too badly. I knew how involved you were with literally everything that happens in 230 Euclid but I genuinely couldn’t have gotten through this past year with you. I still miss our days sitting late in the sports room finishing up a guide or In the Huddle. This place isn’t going to be the same without you. You kept the train going in the right direction.

Kevin: I know this can be a weird place to start working, especially when the EIC changes his name to Drake on Slack a week into the semester. Thank you for dealing with my mistakes throughout the year and really getting everything together on the business side. You don’t understand how much help we needed.

Chloe Powell, Chris Ern: I definitely took both of you for granted at times, creating more mess than necessary. Sorry for the mistakes in the newsletter or with some advertisements not being in the right place. Chris, I didn’t think the freshman who wrote a club rugby story would become a huge asset on the business side. Looking forward to what you do in the future.

Davis: You are the most caring person in this entire newspaper, taking the time out of your day to ask if anyone ever needed anything at all. I’m going to miss seeing you pop by the management door or come in with my favorite blueberry yogurt. Your IT skills made some of the best designed guides we’ve ever had at The D.O. And I can’t wait for you to finish your most ambitious project yet.

Nick: We defeated WAER.

Paul Thomas Anderson: Thank you PTA.

Stephanie Zaso: Zaza. I thought I was crazy until you’d just be starting your work after I finished print production. You are the hardest working person I’ve met and you transformed the design section while you were in house. Thank you for giving me a reason last semester to go into work a little less early than usual. Thank you for the phone calls and the constant support.

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 understood how much I loved working at the D.O. I can’t believe we DJ’d the Dome. Now I’ll have time to watch as many movies as possible.

Dad, Maa, Nikita: Dad and Maa, 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. 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.





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