Letter from Our Editor-in-Chief Tara Guaimano, Class of 2020
Dear Marist College Community,
When I entered Marist in 2016, the Marist Circle saw a spark in the ashes. At the time, our student newspaper existed as a single tab on a Wordpress website run by the School of Communication and the Arts — converged on the Marist Media Hub with WMAR and MCTV. In 2018, we decided to bring back our print newspaper — which dissolved from campus in 2015 — in order to provide another platform for engagement on campus. Every other Tuesday, our community members know they can find a freshly-printed edition on our newsstands in every academic and residential building. Our newspaper has seen immense growth in the past year under the leadership of our talented 2020 senior class. Since April 2019, our online readership has increased by nearly 25 percent, and our bi-weekly print newspaper has helped maintain an important campus tradition.
It has truly been an honor to inform and inspire the Marist community through the vehicle of campus news. In the 2019-2020 academic year, the Marist Circle was graced with an incredibly dedicated staff of full-time student journalists, eager to practice ethical and transparent journalism to serve our small community. I am so grateful for each one of them and the unique talents and abilities they brought to our newspaper, and for the information they lent to our peers week after week. That being said, I want to congratulate our incredibly talented senior editorial board members, Kenneth Guillaume, Hannah Kirk, Raphael Beretta, Madison Vettorino, Marika Cygert, Brie Coba, Alexandria Watts, Benjamin Ward, Georgia Reidy and Ken Huang, for their successes at the Circle, and their many successes to come. The production of the paper would not have been possible without any of you, and each one of your talents and passions amazed more and more with every issue we released.
After the 78 years since its inception, the Marist Circle continues to work towards its commitment to be a voice for all students. We strive to represent all students and community members fairly and equally. With thorough investigation of Poughkeepsie’s infrastructure and community issues, we have strived to extend our coverage to inform the surrounding communities on and off-campus. But on March 16, the Marist community received news that campus would not be reopening for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester. Since then, we have lost nearly 100,000 American lives to the virus that has shaken the globe. We have been forced to re-evaluate how we think about nearly every facet of functioning in the modern world, while simultaneously mourning our neighbors amid all of the noise. Hardships that the Marist Circle seniors’ faced, deprived of anticipated closure, became irrelevant as the world’s hardships unfolded before our eyes.
Still, our senior editorial staff decided to move forward with producing the Marist Circle in an online-only format. Providing a sense of unity and camaraderie in a time where we could not physically be together became our mission. I am confident that our new team, led by our new Editor-in-Chief Sarah Lynch ‘21 and Managing Editor Grace Maeda ‘21, will continue that mission with skill and poise as we enter the 2020-2021 academic year.
Tara Guaimano ‘20 and former For The Record Creative Director Ken Huang ‘20 pictured at the Rotunda in May 2020. Source: Ken Huang
The work we do at the Marist Circle would not be possible without our talented group of 2019-2020 section editors, Alexandria Watts, Max Smith, Madison Vettorino, Grace Maeda, Sarah Lynch and Marika Cygert. Our extremely dedicated Managing Editor Kenneth Guillaume ‘20 has served as the Marist Circle’s “rock,” this year, and I am so proud of the work he has done to assure that every single edition released is better than the last.
My personal journey with the Marist Circle has been a 4-year whirlwind, and it has led to me individuals that I will hold as dear friends and constant creative muses for years beyond graduation. In fall 2017, I sat in a library study room with former Editor-in-Chief Alyssa Hurlbut ‘19 and former publisher Goodman Lepota ‘18 designing our first ever print edition. We had no idea what we were doing — but we knew that our campus needed a tangible copy of the words we reported out week after week. By spring that year, we launched the second edition of Marist Circle Special Initiative, For The Record 2018, where I was able to serve as Editorial Director alongside Creative Director Ken Huang ‘20 and Executive Director Goodman Lepota, and create dynamic stories with our diverse talents and insights. Working with them gave me some of the greatest challenges, and most exciting, moments of my life. In fall 2018, I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, and created my first original documentary film, Amici Del Mare, following the surf culture in a small coastal town in Tuscany. The location, Castiglioncello, Tuscany, was recommended to me by my friend, our Creative Director Raphael Beretta ‘20, from his Italian family-friends. Most of the film was shot by photography and video visionary Benjamin Ward ‘20, the Marist Circle’s Chief of Photography. The film went on to win the award for Best College/University International Short Film at the Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey in March 2020 — and it would not have been possible without my teammates at the Marist Circle.
Guaimano’s new documentary film was filmed by Benjamin Ward, the Marist Circle 2019-2020 Chief of Photography, in fall 2018 in Castiglioncello, Tuscany. Both studied at Marist Italy and returned to work together on new projects for the newspaper. Source: Tara Guaimano
It’s clear that our Marist Circle 2019-2020 editorial team is deeply connected through many projects, from Poughkeepsie to Italy and back. We have seen one another grow year after year and have always lifted one another up by highlighting each of our skills in unique ways. My time at Marist was formed by the creatives and journalists that the Marist Circle has brought together, and I will be grateful for the experiences for the rest of my life.
In retrospect, this position has brought me many important privileges and responsibilities as a Marist student, and has opened the doors to some rooms I never thought I’d be in. From covering Governor Cuomo’s May 8 coronavirus press briefing in the Marist Cabaret to attending the 32nd annual Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal Ceremony this year in Hyde Park, the Marist Circle has quickly re-invented itself into a publication that holds substantial information to present to our community. One of the most important and fragile responsibilities was the Circle’s coverage of the tragic death of Marist student Daniel Shapiro ‘22 in November 2019. This experience showed me what journalism can really mean for a small community like ours at Marist College: a source of information, a vehicle for all student voices, and a stable record of community support.
I am also extremely proud of our senior editorial team in their work in For The Record 2020. It’s a project for students, by students — and over the past four years, it has flourished into an esteemed collaboration between Marist students from diverse disciplines. As the former Editorial Director and member of the inaugural team of the initiative, I would like to thank Raphael Beretta for using his groundbreaking creativity to pilot the project’s third life. Thank you to our dedicated Editorial Director and Managing Editor Kenneth Guillaume ‘20, and our talented Chiefs of Photography Ken Huang and Benjamin Ward, for giving this year’s project a unique meaning with your words and creative eyes. Thank you to Janine Pultorak ‘21, Nicole Carlyle ‘20, and Georgia Reidy ‘20 for assuring that all students’ stories were beautifully colored with artwork and pristine design. Thank you to the talented editorial team, including our Director of Multimedia Hannah Kirk ‘20, for her counsel and dedication to the project. Having worked on the project since my freshman year, with my dear friends and mentors, Bernadette Hogan ‘17 and Goodman Lepota ‘18, and then having the privilege of directing the editorial side in 2018, I have seen For The Record’s founding in 2017 as the beginning of a rebirth of student journalism at the Marist Circle. Since then, I am absolutely confident that we’ve created a foundation built to last.
From left, Goodman Lepota, Tara Guaimano and Ken Huang after the For The Record 2018 gallery exhibition in the Murray Student Center. Source: MaristFTR.com
That being said, the most fruitful part of editing the Marist Circle was the opportunity to let other talented people to let their skills grow, and shine, as best I can. When I met Bernadette Hogan, Goodman Lepota, and Alyssa Hurlbut, they did exactly that for me — and for the rest of my Marist career and career as an alumnus, I hope to be able to do that for other Marist students.
The people who made the Marist Circle’s success possible goes beyond the work of our editorial team. I want to extend my special thanks to the following individuals at Marist for their support throughout the years: Robin Torres, Leslie Foxhall, Kathy Santoiemmo, Kent Rinehart, Hayley Denning, Elisabeth Tavárez, Dr. John Ansley, Dr. JoAnne Myers, Dr. Elizabeth Kaknes, Dr. Mary Stone, Dr. Kristin Bayer, Dr. Lee Miringoff and Dr. James Snyder.
On a personal level, I sincerely thank my wonderful parents, brother, and grandparents for teaching me that hard work and a sense of “heart” within any endeavor go far beyond the walls of academia. Thank you to Herb Pinder, Paul D’Ambrosio and the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey for helping train two consecutive Marist Circle Editor-in-Chiefs in the fragile practices of conducting ethical local journalism. Thank you to David McCraw for his dedication to the Marist journalism program’s former and current students. Thank you to Dr. Kevin Lerner for your counsel on the role of journalism in America today. Thank you to Lorenzo de Medici, Marist Italy, and Marist Abroad Programs for expanding the perspectives of many of our team members. Thank you to Alyssa Hurlbut for showing me what it means to be a voice for our community. Thank you to the folks at Student Activities, Robert Lynch and Michelle Williams for always helping our team’s visions become realities. Thank you to Joe Sarci, Spencer Hogan and Roda Mohamed at the Marist College Student Government Association (SGA) for your support, and for your kind recognition within the 2020 Adrian Award for Student Leadership. Thank you to President Dennis J. Murray for your endless support and for truly caring about Marist students. Finally, thank you to our wonderful and dedicated advisor, Professor Kathleen McNulty, for caring about our newspaper as much as you did when you worked here years before we did.
In a world overflowing with phrases like “in these uncertain times” or “the unprecedented pandemic,” I suspect that some of the rhetoric surrounding the global pandemic has teetered upon meaninglessness for many of my classmates. I am confident that the resilience of the class of 2020 will be proven in coming years, and our generation will channel these experiences to continue shaking systems and building better ones. I want to leave our readers a portion of the words I wrote to the Marist Circle editorial staff on March 17, the day after the announcement of the campus closure, to close my final letter as the Editor-in-Chief of the Marist Circle student newspaper. Keep doing the best you can, and do not lose sight of the meaning behind all you’ve done so far. You have all left Marist better than you found it.
I want to wish you all the best health and lots of strength during this difficult time. I know that we are all extremely disappointed with yesterday's announcement, especially our group of powerhouse seniors here at the Circle. Our group has most likely been one of the most dedicated groups of seniors in the newspaper's history. We built something great out of nothing when we got here in 2016, and I assure you all that the administration and the entire Marist community knows that. To say that I am thankful for your dedication and commitment to making Marist Circle the best that it can be over the past four years is an absolute understatement. As I hold back tears writing this message, I want to assure our senior editorial staff and our rising staff of juniors that we will continue to operate as the Marist Circle for the remainder of Spring 2020, online-only. That being said, college newspapers are still very important at this time — considering the role of young people, higher education and many other stakes within this global pandemic. I know things are crazy right now, and we are all trying to figure out what we are going to do with our classes to begin with. I appreciate all of your passion and dedication to this newspaper and to the good of our community at Marist in general. I know we won't be getting the proper send-off as the class of 2020 — but I hold some comfort in the fact that we know that we changed this campus in a major way, for the better. Stay healthy and happy — it will all work out. The world needs journalists like you all more than ever right now.
Thank you,
Your 2019-2020 Editor-in-Chief
Tara Guaimano
