Goodbye, Volume 51!
A year to remember.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as Editor-in-Chief of Volume 51 at The Medium, it’s how much teamwork matters in journalism. I am particularly proud of the entire Masthead for their amazing contributions and dedication to student journalism. 

It’s truly inspiring to see all that we’ve overcome throughout this volume: we faced AI challenges in both writing and design, and later website security concerns, neither of which I could’ve ever foreseen happening. But we made it through these challenges, and we are stronger as a student paper because of it. This is what student journalism is all about, and I am honoured to have witnessed the entire UTM community’s hard work and passion. 

Our paper has changed a lot since its inception, and I am grateful for the chance to nourish the legacy of The Medium. We are a testament to the fact that student voices matter and that student journalism matters—and will continue to matter. 

As the term comes to an end, I am left with pure awe. Awe at what we’ve accomplished, awe at what we’ve overcome, awe at our amazing masthead, staff writers, and contributors. I know Volume 52 will be in great hands, and it brings me great comfort to know that The Medium’s legacy will continue. Thank you for giving me the honour of serving as Editor-in-Chief of Volume 51.

I want to say the sincerest thank you to Aya Yafaoui, our Managing Editor for Volume 51, all of our talented Masthead, our writers and contributors, and of course, our readers for your deepest support. Thank you for a year we’ll forever remember.

Yours truly,

Hannah Grace Wang

Well, it’s the end of another publishing year here at The Medium. We started the year wanting to reconnect with the student community at UTM, and I’m happy to say that our team has made great progress with involving writers and fostering a community within the paper. We are also proud of the stories we’ve covered this year, from across our five sections, our writers have touched on topics important to them and to our community. 

As we finish out this year, we’ve faced some new challenges; namely, the use of AI and the threat that poses to the integrity of our work. We’ve been adamant that The Medium remains a space where original work is protected, both in writing and illustration. The integrity of our journalism and platform require us to ensure that the words and images we publish are the true product of our students and university community. And so, as we move forward, we will continue to uphold that standard and strive to always be a space for originality and integrity. 

Of course, our paper has also had to adapt to the financial pressures that are facing every student paper, and the wider journalism industry. To accommodate our budget and the rising costs of printing, we’ve had to scale back the number of issues we published, desperately trying to fit in as much as we could. In the future, we may continue to see that evolve with more online issues. For now, though, we are set on trying to keep The Medium as it’s always been: bright, colourful, and informative. 

As Volume 51’s managing editor, I’ve had the pleasure of working with our masthead to fill the paper with engaging and thoughtful articles. I’ve been at The Medium for almost six years, and to see how the paper has grown after the trials and tribulations of the COVID-19 pandemic has been heartwarming. This paper only exists because of students who care about it. And to see more people contribute to this paper and uphold its mission brings me hope that student journalism will continue to survive these difficult times. 

So, as we close out this year, I want to say thank you. Thank you to the students who read our paper. Thank you to the writers who fill it with their words and stories. Thank you to our editors who grow and cultivate our writers and community. Thank you to our masthead for keeping the ship running. And thank you to all the members that have shaped our paper to what it is today. As my mentors Ali Taha and Paula Cho said in their farewell address for Volume 47, “We’re standing on the shoulders of giants.” May we remember those who came before and hold up the brave journalists who will come after.

Sincerely, 

Aya Yafaoui, Managing Editor for Volume 51