The Swarthmorean: A Year of Growth
Last year around this time, I wrote an editorial called “The Swarthmorean: A Year of Change.” I had joined the paper as editor only a few weeks earlier, and the publishers — Rob Borgstrom, Greg Hoy, and Todd Strine — were finishing up their first year as owners.
Many of the seeds planted at the paper in 2019 began to sprout in 2020. For example:
In these pages, a plethora of new columnists and features have rooted us more deeply in the literal ground of this community (Andrew Bunting’s “Andrew in the Garden”), helped us understand more clearly who we are and what we are thinking (Ben Yagoda’s “Unscientific Surveys”), and given us insight into our neighbors (Stefan Roots’ opinion pieces from Chester). Ken Wright (“Postcards From Plush Mills”) showed us what life is like at a senior living facility, and Laurie Bernstein (“Back Issues”) offered us a window into Swarthmore’s past. Our first-ever Swarthmore College intern, Elisabeth Miller, wrote about what was happening on campus, and our high school intern, Funmi Omotosho — along with many other student contributors — helped us understand what it was to be a student in 2020. Between April and September (when he ghosted us), Jon Cohen made us laugh.
Also this year we debuted several new features: Humans of Swarthmore, What’s in Your Basket?, Helpers, Something to Read (or Watch or Listen to), and Sky Over Swarthmore. My favorite new feature, ephemeral though it was, was the Calendar of Imaginary Events, which ran from March to May — those months when real events had largely disappeared from our lives. Readers told us what they wished could happen, and we published weekly listings we could pretend to attend. In some alternate, chimerical universe in those months, Swarthmore hosted concerts by James Taylor and Led Zeppelin, a weekly kitty play date at the public library, a whale watching cruise, nose work trials for dogs, a Gerhard Richter exhibition, a dementia-friendly block party, and a lecture (complete with Reese’s Pieces) on “The Importance of Showing Kindness and Respect to Extraterrestrial Visitors.” The Aurora Borealis even made a showing in our fantasy skies.
But the most significant change to the paper in 2020 has been the addition of an associate editor, Satya Nelms, to our tiny staff. Not only has Satya made the paper a more stable enterprise day to day, but the stories she has shared from her life, her enthusiasm for books and for people, and the clarity and honesty she offers about her perspective as a Black woman have also immeasurably enriched these pages.
We have heard from many of you that you like the direction the paper is taking, and we’re very glad. In a year so marked by distance and isolation, we’re doing what we can to help us all stay connected.
We wish you peace and health in the new year. See you in January.
Rachel Pastan
Editor
