Former Weekly editor mourns end of publication
It’s with a heavy heart that I learned of the quiet demise of The Weekly, a “beloved” Northwestern “institution” that rose out of the ashes of PLAY, which was birthed from the dying womb of some other unread culture page. It was launched in the winter of ’08 as a panacea for the perceived turgidness of PLAY, which focused on national arts and entertainment without an identifying focus other than snark.
I loved PLAY – it gave me and countless other students too lazy to join The Daily a first byline – but I loved The Weekly more for its incisive, in-depth and often caustic look at the Northwestern culture around us. Here was a publication that shunned the New Niceness and ran with New Journalism! Who could forget Peter Jackson’s harrowing expose of Lambda Phi Epsilon’s recruitment tactics, Sara Peck’s stark look at the realities of campus drinking or the time we described a Lodge yacht party as “rape-y”? I’d mention the story titles if The Daily’s web archives were at-all comprehensive, but what’s the point?
In the three years that we were a part of The Daily, us Weekly editors were known as apathetic, casual and at-times unethical. Duh! You don’t write about people having sex at Kappa date parties without tickling a few consciences. We tried to pretend we were too good for the Daily parties but hooked up at them just the same; we gave the editor-in-chief fake pages to mess with her even when it was a horribly busy night; we fell asleep in editorial meetings, or maybe that was just me. We took the job seriously but tried to bring some fun to it, no matter how many Daily staffers openly scowled at us.
In four years, the current freshmen will have graduated and all memories of The Weekly will be gone; more likely, no one will remember after next month. Still, I’m pouring a 40 for the Social Diary.
– Jeremy Gordon
Former Editor-in-chief, The Weekly
Medill ‘10
Remembering dining hall worker Jackie Triplett
Today we have lost a truly beautiful spirit. Jacqueline Triplett, adoringly known by many simply as Mrs. Jackie, has passed away. She suffered from a heart attack during the holiday season and has been on life support throughout this week until doctors and family members decided to take her off life support. May we all keep her family and loved ones in our hearts, minds, and prayers.
But as we mourn the death of a member of our community, let us celebrate the gift that was her life. Mrs. Jackie was passionately loved by everyone who met her at the front of Foster-Walker Complex Dining Hall. She greeted each person sweetly and genuinely, never once failing to develop real relationships with students, despite the chaos of a work day. Like the sweetness that carried in her voice when she talked, there was a sweetness in the relationships she so readily built; like a mother to a child. It is in this light that I believe we all saw Mrs. Jackie. She was the definition of a beautiful person. Her spirit is the reason why she was given best staff awards by FMO year after year. It is the reason why students who have graduated years ago look back upon their Northwestern experience so fondly. It is the reason why hundreds of members of our community work diligently to improve the lives of workers just like her.
In this time of both mourning and celebration, I ask the university to give Mrs. Jackie, Jacqueline Triplett, the same respect that it gives its students who have passed. Allow all students to remember her, just as those closest to her do. Recognize Mrs. Jackie as the integral member of this community that she was.
To the Northwestern community, remember the love that Mrs. Jackie brought this school.
– Kellyn Lewis
Living Wage Campaign Co-Director
Weinberg junior
On behalf of the NU Living Wage Campaign and For Members Only
