JACKIE MARQUEZ / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

My staff and I have been joking about my “Letter from the Editor” since I started serving as Editor-in-Chief almost one year ago. After I butchered the pronunciation too many times to count, they began teasingly referring to it as my “Leditor.” 

My Leditor, my final article, always seemed so far away, and I never pictured myself finally sitting down to write it. But before that, I had never pictured myself as Editor-in-Chief, nor as opinion editor, nor as assistant opinion editor. For the record, I hadn’t even considered journalism as a potential career path until I arrived at USD. 

I ended up in our newsroom, SLP 403B, after a first-year freak out over my future career. 

“What on earth will I do with an English degree post-grad?” I remember asking my first-year advisor. 

I’m still grappling with the question, but asking it earned me the wise advice to join the school newspaper. According to the alumni that my advisor had connected me with, getting my writing published in college would help me in the long run.

While writing for The USD Vista certainly expanded my portfolio, it has given me so much more than a collection of bylines. My experiences have given me practical skills that I know I’ll use no matter where post-grad takes me. Yes, I learned to write in Associated Press style, but I also became more extroverted as I hounded the student population for interviews. I gained experience working under pressure as my team and I frantically laid out pages every Tuesday night so that I could make it to my weekly Resident Assistant meeting on time. Even my organizational skills improved.  

On top of new skills, The Vista has also given me a community of smart, talented and caring journalists that I’m lucky enough to call my friends. 

To my section editors: Emma Pirhala, Anjali Dalal-Whelan, Ellie Skjersaa, Zoe Rogers, Riley Rains, Alissa Abromovich, Shannen Swars, Hailey Howell, Priya Cooper and Khushi Patel, you’ve all grown so much this year. I remember starting off the year scared out of my mind because the majority of our staff had either graduated or gone abroad, but it turns out that I had nothing to worry about. You all stepped into your roles whole-heartedly and made the newsroom your own. It’s been a pleasure to work with you, but also to laugh and spend time alongside you. 

To my exec team: Lily Anderson, Lara Dominique Solante and Lauren Ceballos, you all have been my ride or dies. Thank you for always having my back. Our newsroom has been so lucky to have such a thoughtful, supportive and reliable team. We couldn’t have done it without your unwavering dedication to our paper.

Lily, it has been such an honor to have you first as my assistant opinion editor and then as my managing editor. I remember being ever-so-slightly intimidated by you when you joined the opinion corner, and it was for good reason. You are one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, and you’re a sharp editor. Thank you for always catching the mistakes I overlook; you’ve made my life much easier.  

Lara Dominique, I can’t believe how easily you stepped into the copy editor role. Not only have you helped shape the Vista’s voice with your stories and edits, you’ve played a huge role in shaping our newsroom culture. Thank you for all the jaw-droppingly out-of-pocket stories and side-splitting laughs. 

To Lauren Ceballos, The Vista’s Editor-in-Chief for the ‘25-‘26 school year, I am so excited for all that you’re going to accomplish next year. The joy and kindness that you’ve brought to our newsroom this year speaks to the kind of leader that you are. I’m confident that as challenges arise you will be able to handle them with grace and set a strong example for your team. Serving as Editor-in-Chief is a whirlwind, and you’ll find yourself doing things you’ve never dreamed of (whether that be for better or for worse). Before you can blink, you’ll be writing your own “Letter from the Editor,” so take it all in and enjoy it while you can. Now is your opportunity to shape your legacy — make it count. 

Finally to Gina Lew, my advisor and mentor, I wouldn’t be where I am today without you, and I mean that literally. Thank you for advocating for me when I couldn’t imagine staying at USD because of my finances. Thank you for always picking up your phone when I had an urgent question. Most importantly, thank you for teaching me how to think like a journalist.  

I  think that’s the most important thing that The Vista has given me: a different worldview. As I read the news, interviewed community members, interacted with the University’s public relations team and networked with local journalists, I developed a newfound understanding of what it means to be a watchdog. As the “fourth estate,” the role of a journalist is to think critically and hold those in power accountable. This role is more important now than ever before. 

In the past year, our nation has seen unprecedented challenges to the freedom of the press. Access to the government press pool has been restricted with news agencies like the Associated Press being barred. Additionally, officials have limited the public’s access to government information by removing thousands of web pages related to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Justice. From harassing journalists online to suing news organizations for unfavorable coverage, the Trump administration has put America’s independent press at risk. 

These challenges aren’t unique to national newsrooms, student journalists are facing limitations in coverage as well. At Tufts  University, Ph.D student Rumeysa Ozturk was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after writing an op-ed calling her school to divest from Israel. Across the country, student  newspapers are grappling to retain their independence as they’re forced to rely on funding from their universities. Here at USD, student journalists are required to go through the University’s Office of Public Relations in order to arrange interviews with administrators and University officials. Of the at least 20 interview requests  submitted by The USD Vista in the last year,  13 were met with statements from the press office rather than one-on-one interviews with the administrator requested.  

I don’t bring up these trends as a “gotcha” to the Trump Administration, ICE or USD’s public relations team. I bring them up because they show how important it is to support The USD Vista and student journalism as a whole. 

As USD’s undergraduate student newspaper since 1968, the purpose of The Vista is to share stories about students, by students and for students. We serve as the first draft of USD’s history, and we’re privileged to uplift the voices of our community. The freedom of the press affects all of us. So, whether you have copies of The USD Vista hanging on your wall (we’ve heard about you, Camino residents) or you’re just reading our paper for the first time, I encourage you to keep supporting student journalism. Maybe that means picking up our paper on newsstands every Thursday, or maybe that means dropping in on a Tuesday pitch meeting at 12:30 p.m. in SLP 403B. Regardless of how you get involved, you won’t regret it. I know I certainly didn’t. In fact, if the real world is anything like our newsroom, I’m excited to get out into it.

Thank you for everything,

Jackie Marquez

Editor-in-Chief

2024-2025

The views expressed in the editorial and op-ed sections are not necessarily those of  The USD Vista staff, the University of San Diego, or its student body.