Dear Patriots, 

In life, you can’t please everyone. And in this job, we hardly please anyone sometimes. 

In the two years I have worked as a reporter, I have seldom written something that made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I have covered a wide array of pieces, some surrounding addiction at the college level, undue donor influence on campus and sexual assault, to name a few.

I, along with other reporters and editors on staff, have had to cover heavier topics such as these. With our issues coming out weekly, it is easy to become overwhelmed sometimes. 

This will be our last issue until Oct. 28, so I’m encouraging our staff to get some well-deserved R&R. I think all of you deserve some relaxation time too. 

It’s important that we all take care of ourselves and each other, and that’s a part of my job that I take very seriously. I think we all do here at Fourth Estate. We are here for you all, the students. 

That being said, we have some great content for you guys this week. For our News section, my Co Editor profiled Mason’s Student Body President, Camden Layton. Our Sports section profiled a Mason student who played softball on the Croatian National Softball Team. 

Our Culture section wrote an excellent piece on international students that came together to form a band. Opinions addressed the news of the memorial to enslaved people in Wilkins Plaza, otherwise known as North Plaza. 

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to reach out to us at masonfourthestate@gmail.com. 

Sincerely, 

Dana Nickel

Co Editor-in-Chief