I spent my third and final year of Tower as a ghost. Shrouded by mystery and rows of computer monitors, I took residence in a forgotten corner and began my haunting of the fabled “back room.”

When a scheduling issue forced me to take Advanced Journalism III as an independent study, I had no choice but to become a lone wolf.

Due to my unorthodox Tower-hour, most people don’t realize I’m on staff. They assume there’s been a typo when my name pops up on a preplan, and they think I’m lost when I show up to deadline. Hiding behind the scenes, my presence on The Tower became that of a phantom’s, and while my work was known to many, my existence was a secret known only by a few.

I’m ready to drop my act as an apparition. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed my time as the secret staffer, but it’s just that I’ve gotten sick of the solitude. Besides the occasional visit from a brave Honors Journalism student, most of the time, it’s just me and my copy edits.

I miss the Tower community– story pitches, signups, procrastinating with the back table– it’s not the same in a class of one. I’ve had my fun as the Tower ghost, but now I’m prepared to move on. South will be spooky enough without our class to keep things running; they don’t need a phantom in room 144 making things worse.