Last weekend, I had the honor of emceeing Spring Jam’s Ballyhoo Dance Competition.

As I stood on the stage – mic in hand, in awe of the mass of students wildly cheering for their friends and greek siblings – one thought kept running through my brain:

Has it been four years already?

Watching the crowd applaud and have fun with Spring Jam made me finally realize my time as a student was coming to an end and graduation is upon me.

Despite the cliché, it does seem like it was only yesterday my parents were dropping me off at my dungeon-like dorm up at the University’s Duluth campus, with a lot of Easy Mac and a 24-pack of Mountain Dew neatly stored away in my closet.

But the “U memories” deal has already been done in these pages, so I’ll just stop there.

I will say, however, that there are things I’m going to miss: B. Loco wings on Wednesday nights. The hunnies. Watching people enjoy the weather on Northrop Mall. Al’s Breakfast. The hunnies. Driving down University Avenue on Friday nights. And last, but not least – the hunnies. These things might always be around, but obviously, it won’t be the same.

While my departure will surely come as a joy to some of you, for the rest of you, I hope you’ve been satisfied with the concepts I’ve presented. Through slow news cycles, lampooning letters to the editor and two sprained knuckles, I gave you all absolutely everything I had to offer in 331 consecutive cartoons. You know what I think, and I hope it made you think.

It’s not some brilliant artistic commentary, but the cartoon you see above represents what I have tried to get across these last two years.

This is your campus. Your state. Your nation. Like anything else, these things will only improve by your interaction with them. We all have tremendous opportunities to improve our communities and the quality of our national identity – but it takes our positive collective effort.

And that goes for the Daily, too. Regardless of your opinion, the fact is every person working here busts their butt to give you something worthwhile five times a week.

However, this paper will always only be as good as you, the reader, help to make it. The more you all engage and interact with this campus and paper, the better and more relevant they both will become. This is your paper.

Before I bid farewell from this paper and campus, there are three people I’d like to acknowledge.

Emily Mraz and Chris Ison are two of the best academic advisers anybody could ask for. Thank you for always looking out for me.

Of course, I can’t forget Robert H(oratio) Bruininks, our beloved president. Bob, we’ve been through a lot. Though our ideas about this University differ, I cannot deny the strength of your character – you’ve earned my respect. Thank you for being such a good sport through all my ribbing. I look forward to shaking your hand on Sunday afternoon.

For now, I’ll bury my pencils in the ground – I can’t draw with them anymore.

But don’t worry, fans. Much like King Arthur in the legend of Camelot, your Collegiate Hero shall return when Goldy is most in need. But until then . . .

See ya in the funny pages . . .

Adam Elrashidi welcomes comments at [email protected].