Readers,

Well, this is it. My tenure as Editor-in-Chief of the Cardozo Jurist is over. Next semester Stephanie Kane, currently the Jurist’s Managing Editor, will be taking the reins.

I have so much to say, and so little space to say it in. I need to thank some people. At the top of a very long list is Rachel Kleinman – and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Rach, it was you who showed me what the Jurist was all about: working side-by-side with good friends. Passionate, intense and a natural leader, you are truly one of a kind. Simply put, I learned from the best.

Ah, Jeff Pruzan. The ying to my yang. You, my friend, amaze me on a daily basis. How can someone be that selfless? How can someone be that calm under pressure? How can someone be that good at making everyone happy? Jeff, I don’t know how you do it. All I know is, it was a pleasure to share the foxhole with you.

Now, I would like to thank a few – just as important – people in shorter fashion, only so I can get to some parting words in. Thank you Josh Moskovitz, Glen Parker and Amol Sinha for so warmly welcoming me to this paper as a 1L. Thank you Sara Liss and Wells Crandall for your tireless devotion. Thank you Stephanie Kane, Brett Lipman, Josh Wurtzel and Brian Farkas for your enthusiasm for continuing the Jurist’s legacy.

So, with my thank yous out of the way, I’d like to pose a question that I will then try to answer: What have we done here?

We have built a respectable newspaper at a law school. Did you know that most law schools don’t have student newspapers? That makes sense, doesn’t it? After all, law school students are very, very busy. Yet here we are.

That the Jurist exists is a feat in itself.

And somehow the Jurist not only exists, but has far exceeded what can be expected from most student newspapers. Our reporters write balanced, well-researched articles on timely issues that students care about (in this semester alone we have written about the search for a new OCS dean; obtaining writing credit for a journal Note; ABA standards regarding employment statistics; and distribution of students with scholarships throughout 1L sections). Our editorial board has generated buzz with the positions it takes on controversial issues (our last editorial was picked up by the National Law Journal). Members of the SBA and administration want to work with the Jurist to reach students.

To think, the Jurist has done all this from an office virtually the size of a closet and without any school funding.

How did this happen? Our staff. The staffers are so driven to give this school the paper it deserves that they put the paper’s needs before their own (often amidst criticism that they are allocating their time unwisely). This staff is part of something special, and it embraces the sacrifices and responsibilities that come with it.

I am proud of this paper. I am proud of its staff. And I am proud and so deeply honored for the opportunity to serve the Cardozo Jurist.

While I will leave satisfied with the work we’ve done, I’m going to miss this job terribly. I’ll miss everything from the writing and editing to seeing students reading the Jurist in the hallways. But, what I will miss most is working late into the night on deadline side-by-side with my good friends. Because, when it comes down to it, that’s what this was all about.

Sincerely,

Dave Reap

Editor-in-Chief