As another NMU school year at The North Wind comes to an end, we reflect on not only the accomplishments we’re proud to share, but the memories we’ve made and the purpose we serve as a news organization.

Every year we cover a wide variety of topics, which enriches the conversation at the university and the community of Marquette.

As life goes on, stories happen, and some of them can be heartbreaking. But it’s our job as journalists to report the news and deliver a product that keeps readers picking up an issue each week.

This year, we’ve suffered a low number of writers, resulting in staff picking up sometimes as many as four stories a week. We’ve stayed up late on production nights, sometimes until 4 a.m. due to a server crash. We’ve had to eliminate some positions, as well as cut staff hours to compensate for a tight budget. The classic newspaper riddle “what’s black and white and read all over” applies to us now once again, as we leave a colored print product behind in hopes of mitigating our debt.

These changes were a challenge and hard truth to swallow, but we continue to remind ourselves that the best way we can learn is to work with what we have and make it happen. Journalism never sleeps, and as students running this organization, sometimes we don’t either.

The good news is, through coming together, we’ve sweat off some of the debt. Through our stories, we’ve helped bring attention to politics on campus and have helped readers see that their voice can make a difference. We continue to provide a space for all kinds of writers and we encourage them to share their stories and take advantage of their right to the First Amendment.

Journalism is a struggling industry; the idea of fake news has dominated the field and dances in the heads of each journalist as they sit down to write another story.

We look forward to another year and are ready to take on future stories and challenges from new Wildcats, the ones that aren’t afraid to make a stand for what they believe in, have a passion to experience new things and attend events to hear new viewpoints.

Good luck on exams and have a great summer.