Head to Head 12-11-24

December 11, 1999

Peake Performance

Students of Davidson, I know these past few months have tested our democratic beliefs, both as a school community and as a nation. In an effort to encourage bipartisanship in these challenging times, I would like to take a minute to tell you about my co-editor-in-chief. It is my understanding that there have been many questions regarding Benjamin Charles Peak(e)’s qualifications for serving as editor-in-chief of The Davidsonian. Obviously, as one of the most important newspapers in North Carolina—and maybe even the world—The Davidsonian holds its editors to high standards. When Ben joined as co-editor-in-chief last spring, I truthfully had no idea how he would contribute to the paper. After all, I did not realize he knew how to talk until the spring of our junior year. However, as I have gotten to know him over the past few months, I quickly learned that Ben is the perfect guy for the job.

Right about now, you may be thinking: who is Silent 500 member Ben Peake again? If you are looking to find Ben, you need not look too far past Armfield Courtyard. Well, actually, you should look a little farther because you will certainly not find him mingling downstairs where students dare to go, but rather to pickleball courts beyond the premises of Davidson College. Ben serves as the fearless founder and leader of the Davidson College Pickleball Club, guiding students to victory in the most middle-aged sport in America. When Ben is not playing this glorified version of ping pong, you can find him breaking ankles (or just his own) against various fraternity brethren in intramural flag football. However, the best place to see Ben in action is in the very place I have had the opportunity to get to know him: The Davidsonian office in Union. Each Tuesday, from the hours of 3:00PM-1:00AM Eastern Time, you can find Ben meticulously reading every article that our fantastic writers produce. And while I personally find myself ready to punch him by the end of each layout session because he wants to know whether a word in the article we have read eighty times in three days is correct, Ben ensures that the paper is the best it can be each week. I am reknowned for my spelling errors when editing: it is rare for me to type a cohesive, error-free sentence, even with spell check on Google Docs. This is where Ben’s editing abilities shine through, editing articles to perfection and putting my abilities to shame. Although, sometimes Tuesdays get a little weird when his childhood best friend Bilal Razzak ‘25 barges into the office and asks, “Wassup can you bless me real quick?” to which Ben will grumpily reply, “Nah, I’m busy get out,” while reluctantly dapping him up. It is important to note that Ben and Bilal’s high school was called Boys’ Latin—another great quality is that his high school education makes Ben bilingual in a dead, foreign language! While yes, Ben acts like and presents himself as a fourteen-year-old boy on a day-to-day basis, he genuinely cares about giving Davidson the facts when it comes to our local news. Put your doubts at ease, and know that so long as Ben is co-editor-in-chief, he will ensure that the Davidson community receives only the best, most crucial information when it comes to our small but mighty paper. Remember his name when he’s running BuzzFeed one day. No glaze.

– Claire Kelly ‘25

On behalf of Ben Peake

Killer Kelly

The Chosen One. The Anointed. She Who Walks Among Us. Vessel of Writing Divinity. Claire Kelly was handpicked to serve as this year’s editor-in-chief of The Davidsonian, and there was truly no one better for the role. Claire could have easily handled this Herculean task by herself, for she is no mere mortal. However, she decided to take pity on me, granting me co-editor-in-chief status after my one semester stint as the Living Davidson editor. Ten issues later, it is clear that Claire deserves the title of superior co-editor-in-chief. I’ve just been lucky to witness greatness.

For those that do not know, the creation of a new issue of The Davidsonian starts over a week before the print release. Editors will give up part of their Sunday in order to pitch ideas to the rest of the group. Everyone is engaged, excited for the new stories that will fill the pages of our next issue. Well, almost everyone. I can often be found with my computer covering a phone playing Sunday NFL Countdown, complaining about the current state of the Baltimore Ravens (I’ll never forgive them for letting Mike Macdonald go). I will sometimes attempt to lead the meeting, but all of the editors know who is actually in charge in the office.

Sunday afternoon, editors will receive articles from their writers and make edits for the upcoming week. Ideally, the editors-in-chief would then hit the Google Docs that same night so that writers would have ample time to make changes before Tuesday. Claire does just that, quickly reading each piece and making necessary corrections. She sometimes moves so fast in order to respect the writers’ time that she will spell multiple words wrong in a thank you note at the bottom of the page. As for me? If I manage to make changes before Monday afternoon, I will edit from about 2:00AM-6:00AM, calling into question my mental capacity and time management skills. Throughout this entire process, Claire is constantly (and I mean constantly… like it never stops) checking in with editors, ensuring that all the work is done and ready for Tuesday. Come to think of it, Claire sends out most of the emails too (which used to include multiple incorrect spellings of Ben Peake). And most of the GroupMe messages. And handles all of the P-Card transactions. Talk about shouldering responsibility.

Tuesday is the big day. Claire and I will be in The Davidsonian office from about 3:00PM-1:00AM the next morning, putting together the final copy to be released Wednesday afternoon. Claire has made the office much more lively, complete with string lights that cover one of the computers, forcing the user to constantly move it out of the way in order to be productive. Most of the day involves editing each section after it has been placed into Adobe InDesign, and the work is (finally) split evenly amongst the two of us. Claire’s Adobe InDesign skills are second only to Annabel Groseclose ‘27, our layout editor, and she can often be found helping me with simple actions like text wrap. I, on the other hand, will lecture her on her “unc” status and what common words like aficionado mean. Claire is such a perfectionist that she will often ask me to look over all of her edits in a section. Certainly, it’s a sign of confidence in her own ability. After most of the work is done, Claire will engage in floor time, where she will quite literally lay on the Union carpet in exhaustion. Clearly, she leaves it all on the page.

The choice for better editor-in-chief is obvious. Claire is such a phenomenal editor that I even let her edit this column. Nce jobb, Claire! And thnks for a graat semster.

– Ben Peake ‘25

On behalf of the Claire Kelly

THIS ARTICLE IS FROM A SATIRICAL ISSUE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ACTUAL VIEWS