“I’ve only known these people for two semesters, but…”

In the past two semesters as Managing Editor and EIC, Betsy Ladyzhets has learned one very important thing: she would die for any and all of the Bwog first years. Here’s why.

Zack: Zack’s superlative for this semester was “human Bwoglines,” which is incredibly accurate because, like Bwoglines, he is filled of knowledge that I never knew I wanted but, once I have acquired it, suddenly cannot live without. A detailed description of why Black Panther probably won’t get too many Oscars? A bot that randomizes and imitates Bwog’s twitter? A desktop app that will tell me exactly how many people are in each Columbia library at any given time? Yes, these things all came from one human brain. All this and more.

Jenny: I have honestly lost count of the number of times Jenny has Stepped Up(TM) this year, especially this past semester. She’ll tackle multiple investigative pieces at once, offer to fill in dailying in a heartbeat, write up a breaking news post when nobody else is free… tl;dr she is the wind beneath my wings. Also, I’m still not over that one time she met Steve Buscemi.

Thomas: Thomas is a quiet, comforting presence at weekly meetings. Whenever the discussions get too high-energy, I look to the back and find him, perched on a blue armchair, listening intently. I see that this Bwog meeting is only a spec of dust in the vast universe of life, and if we get distracted for a moment, well, we get distracted for a moment. I return.

Lucy: When Lucy cares about something, she goes all out. If she’s campaigning for a cause, she’ll mention it in every conversation. If she volunteers to investigate a tip on health care workers at Columbia, she’ll turn it into a stellar feature combining many interviews and weeks of research. If someone asks her for advice on skin care, she proposes a whole Bwog column. She knows her priorities, and she gets shit done.

Idris: Idris has shared more Spec op-eds than any Bwog writer I know, and this is only in her first year. This is a poor attempt at a metaphor for: she’s always actively bringing in different perspectives, vocally enough that we have no choice but to listen. (She’s also been interviewed for a couple of Spec features – usually Spec writers never want to talk to us, so she must be pretty damn special.)

Cara: Cara can make anyone feel more secure in their corporeal forms just by being in the vicinity. She has the confidence to make even a paper bag look good. And her buy/sell/trade game is better than yours.

Zoe: GSSC is, without a doubt, the best student council on campus. And as such, they deserve the best bureau chief. Someone who is kind, good-natured, always knows when to talk mental health and when to go treat herself… and Zoe is, without question, the best person for the job.

Ramisa: Sometimes, I see Ramisa on the second floor of the Diana. Whenever this happens, I feel an immediate sense of security. As though the world has been tilted for years, and is just now shifting to the correct position on its axis. Bold beautiful buying french fries.

Sarah Harty: Sarah Harty and I have the same favorite wine, which, of course, means that she has incredible taste. And the story of why that particular wine is her favorite is the stuff of legend to which the rest of us mortals can only aspire.

Danielle: Last weekend, on my way home from a party, I ran into Danielle, who was returning to Butler from a late night Morton Williams run. But she had neither the dead eyes nor the weary soul of a late-night Butler camper; she was ready to chug her iced coffee and get back into that game. She is an inspiration to us all.

Jake: I never thought I’d be getting both my updates about university activism from around the country and the my updates about the hottest fashion trends from Vineyard Vines from the same person, but now that I am, I never want to go back.

Levi: It is impossible to describe how I feel about Levi in words, so I am instead going to direct you to this video of a man playing piano with his very good cat sitting on the keys. Thank you.

Isabel: The Cromslor to my Pinskidan. “DO WE HAVE SLACKS,” I shout at her. We may, possibly, have slacks. We may not have slacks. We may be in a Schrödinger’s slacks situation in which we both do not and do have slacks simultaneously until we open the closet and find out. I don’t know. But what I do know is, Isabel is more powerful than all the slacks in the world combined, and she only grows every time she fights someone. Watch out: she’s gonna do great things.

All of the first-years on Bwog right now are so incredibly smart, talented, dedicated people, and, at the risk of sounding like an elementary school teacher writing progress reports, it’s been a pleasure to have them on the team this year. First-years, if you’re reading this: I’m proud of you.

RIP Brooklyn Nine-Nine?? via Betsy’s late-night Photoshopping skills