As the sun sets on another Tucson summer, the beginning of classes on Aug. 25 can be seen just beyond the red and gold haze.

The start of the semester will mean a lot of things to different people. Incoming freshmen will excitedly untie those nervous knots left in their collective stomachs, hoping for the best and that college really is made of the things they’ve hoped and dreamed of.

Returning students will move into their new places, empty boxes and drop their summer jobs (or not), depending on their class load.

The point is, everyone has a job to do. The end of summer and the subsequent beginning of the semester means we all have to change our habits to meet our own expectations for the upcoming school year.

And that includes the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

Editors will switch desks and take their new positions, readying themselves for a change in work style from the summer with the start of daily issues and a new editor-in-chief. At the newsroom, we are looking forward to a challenging year of obstacles and attainable goals…just like you.

In fact, we at the Wildcat are not only like you – we are you.

We have the same problems and seek the same solutions for the same work environment issues that come up with your own jobs. We struggle to stay afloat with classes, do our jobs and have fun at the same time.

We love our jobs, and we do everything within our power to provide you with the highest quality product we can every time we roll out a new issue. And do you know what else? We couldn’t do any of it without you.

It truly never gets old to walk around campus and see thousands of students looking intently at the Wildcat’s content, whether it’s the Police Beat or the Sudoku puzzles.

We in the journalism industry are obsessed with words-their meaning, their impact, their nature. Sometimes, though, words aren’t enough. They get caught in the throat, don’t roll off the tongue right or come out in the wrong tone. Words are concrete, their meanings specifically spelled out, so when we can’t manipulate them correctly, when their exact meanings escape us, when words just aren’t enough, sometimes we just have to tip our caps and say, “”Thank you”” to the readers.

Thank you…for everything. For the kind words, for the criticisms, for the e-mails (both positive and negative) and for the online comments. You may not think so, but we read these things, and we use them to try to better ourselves and the overall quality of our – er, rather – your publication.

As UA students ourselves, we take great pride in being an integral part of such a great university with such a bright student body, as opposed to our illiterate neighbors to the north (Arizona State, not Canada, dumbass).

Just like you, sometimes we need to just learn how to laugh at ourselves. When a double-entendre headline finds its way into the issue or when a typo leaves you with a completely different word than what you meant – sure, we don’t like it – and we ream each other’s asses about it, but at the end of a long day in the newsroom, what you really need is a smile and a laugh.

Just like you, we like to make fun of campus publications, although the focus of our criticisms may lie with other publications.

We take these things that make us like you – these insecurities, these fun-loving ideals, these worries, these cares – and we try to make them disappear.

Aside from the Opinions Desk, when an issue comes out, we try our best to erase any semblances of subjectivity, any glaring mistakes, any signs or symbols to the readers that maybe, just maybe, that particular night, we just didn’t have it.

Just like you, we have great days that make us jump out of our ergonomic chairs and high-five like we’re in an early ’90s rap video. And we also have days we’d rather forget, days that leave us hanging our heads wishing we could turn back time.

The point is, we don’t want the readership to think of the Wildcat as some faceless, insensitive newspaper with a circulation of 17,000. We want you to see and think of us as what we consider ourselves to be – UA students who love their jobs and realize how lucky they are to be read every day by you, your friends, your professors, alumni, Arizona fans, etc.

In the end, what makes our effort so great is the same thing that makes the UA great. Every single one of you reading this.

So when words just aren’t enough, when we’ve had a bad day and feel like kicking ourselves, just know that we appreciate that you are so quick to go right back and pick up another issue the very next day.

When words just aren’t enough – thank you.

-Shain Bergan is a journalism junior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.