I joined The Sun because I loved sports. And partially because my best friend Scott joined his college newspaper and I figured if Scott, a decidedly average writer, could cover sports in college, then so could I. But mostly because I loved sports.
It’s been four years, and my love for sports has diminished. Yes, I still follow LeBron James way too closely for anyone outside of Cleveland and I could rattle off far too many Division I college mascots, but I find myself disinterested in games or standings or even entire sports (sorry, baseball). Yet, thanks to my time on The Sun, that passion for sports has been replaced with a love of writing, an appreciation for journalism and a community of talented, caring friends.
In my first-year writing seminar in the fall of my freshman year, we were tasked with writing about what we thought of writing. I distinctly remember my response: I didn’t particularly like writing and it was merely something I had to do to get through my classes. For me, writing was something to be avoided at all costs.
Now, almost four years later, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Sun has taught me to write succinctly, to edit carefully and to read critically. Perhaps most importantly, The Sun has taught me to have confidence in my writing and in my ideas. I no longer dread long papers or written assignments. The lessons I’ve learned while desking at The Sun’s office or editing a terribly written article or spending days tinkering with one paragraph of a longform feature have been paramount to my academic success at Cornell, and will likely guide me after graduation.
The Sun has given me a first-hand look at what journalism is and what goes into each article in the pages of each newspaper throughout the country. What The Sun does is important. The Sun shapes the campus conversation and defines how events are remembered years in the future. Being a part of this institution has made me aware of the power, importance and necessity of journalism, not just at Cornell but across the country. It took late nights at The Sun’s office and flurries of frantic Slack messages and painstakingly transcribing hours and hours of interviews to realize this truth.
But what’s made it possible for me to learn so much about writing and to build an appreciation for journalism is the people I’ve met in my time on The Sun. It took a while for me to find my place socially at The Sun; I tend to be reserved in new social settings. But that reticence retreated over time, and I met some of the most incredible, hard-working, dedicated, passionate and thoughtful people I’ve known at Cornell.
First to Anna Fasman ’16. I never would have been as involved in The Sun if it wasn’t for you so I have you to thank for so much. To Joon Lee ’17, thank you for getting me to buy into your vision for revamping the department and making our coverage 10 times better. Thank you to Zach Silver ‘19 for being the best assistant sports editor I could have asked for.
Thank you to Rebecca Blair ’17, I’m not still not entirely sure what you did here, but I enjoyed cutting through a graveyard with you that one time. Thank you to Phoebe Keller ’18 for making long nights of desking fly by. Thank you to the rest of the 133rd, 134th and 135th editorial boards for the amazing work you all do, and your dedication to always making The Sun’s coverage better. And, of course, thank you to Michaela Brew ’18 for your endless support, guidance and encouragement.
I started writing for The Sun because I thought I could deepen my passion for sports. What I got instead was incredibly different, but it was so much better and I’m incredibly grateful to The Sun for it.
Adam Bronfin is graduating from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning. He served on three editorial boards at The Sun, as an Assistant Sports Editor, Sports Editor and Senior Editor.