I remember my first encounter with The Signal. I attended an interest session as a doe-eyed freshman. I was impressed by the overall appearance of the editorial staff. They had confidence and inside jokes in spades. One of them wore a leather jacket. It was still welcome week, and I didn’t have any of those things yet. I hadn’t written a single article but my friend Jeff and I had already decided that by our senior year we were going to make a run for Editor-in-Chief — a friendly competition. We never reached the finish line but I ended up working alongside Jeff for a semester as Features Assistant until he moved on to news and I took over the position of Features Editor my senior year.
Although slightly less ambitious, I think I was probably better off. I wasn’t cut out for the weekly news cycle or a position of management but I was a perfect candidate for soft news and free pizza. I never made it to the top, but I really enjoyed making the things I made on the way — whether they be gratuitous Signal ads or new friends.
—Todd Petty
former Features Editor
Coming down to The Signal on Mondays and working on the paper all day was always a pain in the butt. It was the hardest when I knew the sun was shining outside or I had lots of work to catch up on. There were times I wished the Editor-in-Chief would cancel the week’s edition. Unfortunately, they never did. I complained, I pouted, and I also had the most fun when I was down there. The Signal is the ultimate love/hate relationship, and I wouldn’t change my experience with my editors (my friends) for anything in the world.
—Jeffrey Roman
former News Editor
Part of me never thought this day would come. Not so much because I have not come to terms with the fact that I am graduating and leaving The Signal forever, but because I literally thought being in a basement for three years would claim my life and I would die from some sort of ventilation problem.
I assumed my body would just be kicked aside on production night and blanketed with proofed pages until garbage day came. Morbidity aside, that is the reality of the newspaper — it outlasts us all. I have spent six semesters at the best college newspaper in New Jersey and after a quick calculation, a conservative estimate equates my time in the dungeon to about 1,064 hours or 44 entire days. I have spent time as Sports Assistant, Sports Editor, Managing Editor, Senior Editor and two semesters as Editor-in-Chief. I have about 125 entries on the paper’s website. Now I’m leaving and in three years, no one will know who I am. Looking back on all of this, I must be fucking crazy, but I always loved it. I’ve learned more at The Signal than in any class, and as I write this, it is 11:11 a.m. Make a wish. I wish I don’t get mesothelioma. Damn … now it won’t come true.
—Bobby Olivier
former Editor-in-Chief
