Howdy y’all.
My name is Kaz Bresnan, and I am the new Editor-in-Chief for UW-Platteville’s student-ran newspaper, the Exponent. I have been with the Exponent for two years; first as a general reporter in the 2022-2023 academic year and then the Chief Copy Editor for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Over this past year, I have been extremely fortunate to have been able to work under our current Editor-in-Chief, Natalie Downie. Without her guidance and recommendation, I do not believe I would have ever considered running for the Editor-in-Chief position. Thank you, Natalie, for your tireless work in serving the newspaper and keeping all of us in line. You have left massive footprints that I will try my best to fill; thank you for being an outstanding boss, role model and friend. In some of the most difficult times of my college career, you have been a constant pillar of kindness and support. I have nothing but well wishes for you and the rest of your academic endeavors; I look forward to following your successes both inside and outside of Platteville. Stay safe, drink some water and don’t drive into any more ditches without me.
I am very thrilled to share the editorial board for the next semester, starting with Gabe Farr. Gabe will be continuing his position as Chief Layout Editor but is taking up the role of the Exponent’s vice president position for the next academic year. Gabe has really stepped up to the plate and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him more closely next semester.
Ethan Hack will be returning as Chief Photo Editor. Ethan has consistently produced amazing photos every week, and I look forward to continuing seeing his work in the upcoming academic year.
Abigail Shimniok will be maintaining her position as Chief Graphics Editor. Abby has made her fair share of amazing (and some horrifically 3D) graphics. I am eager (and fearful) to see what graphics she will come up with next year.
Ella Madsen will also be continuing her position as Assistant Graphics Editor. Although Ella has not been with us for a long time, she has quickly become a great addition to our team. I look forward to seeing what new things she will accomplish.
Ashley Weis and Owen Einen will stay in their positions as Circulation Manager and Business Ad Manager.
Nat Poeschel will be taking over my previous position as Chief Copy Editor and stepping away from their current position as Social Media Manager. I have complete faith that Nat will easily step into the position and do great at it.
Taking over the Social Media Manager position is the Exponent’s newest member, Izzy Emerson. Izzy has only been with the Exponent for a little over a month, but I am excited to be able to work with her more next year. Izzy, I cannot wait to sort through hate mail on the Exponent email with you.
Ethan “Ethan 2” Pulvermacher will be taking over as Managing Editor. Ethan 2 has put in an incredible amount of work and dedication over the past year and I am super excited to be able to work with him more closely in the future.
I would also like to say goodbye to Justin Brayer, who has worked as a General Reporter for this academic year. Justin has had the unenviable task of helping to copyedit the paper, and I am excited for you to graduate and start your life as a real adult. You are going to do amazing.
In addition to Justin, I would also like to say goodbye to Luukas Palm-Leis. Thank you, Luukas, for not only copyediting on Tuesday nights, but also for writing some great articles in your time at the Exponent.
I would like to quickly extend a thank you to our returning faculty members; thank you Sara Koeller for trying to keep us all out of trouble. I know it isn’t an easy task and everyone in the office appreciates what you do for all of us.
Our Advisor, Dr. David Gilotta, will (thankfully) be returning as well. I would like to extend my gratitude to David for stepping up as the Exponent Advisor on such a short notice and continuing to stick with us despite some of the more difficult challenges we have thrown at him this academic year.
Thank you to our printing company, Woodward Printing. Without them, we would be strictly digital. Thank you for your patience and thank you for allowing us to be an actual physical newspaper. I look forward to working with you next year and for many years to come.
Very quickly, rapid fire, I would like to quickly thank Nicole Young, John Rodwell, Veronica Hausser, Morgan Fuerstenberg, Isabelle Sander, Nick Wagner and Dr. Pip Gordon for their work at the Exponent in previous years. Although they are gone, they are not forgotten, and their influence can be felt throughout the Exponent office.
Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to UW-Platteville and the Platteville community. Thank you for continuously supporting your local student news. Thank you to all of those who have submitted their opinion pieces for us to publish and thank you to all of those who have responded to our paper. The Exponent staff and I appreciate all the feedback we have received from people in the community and we are glad that Platteville has been enjoying our recent publications.
I am so incredibly lucky and grateful to have the opportunity to work with such a wonderful staff in my time at the Exponent, and I am honored to have been elected as the new Editor-in-Chief for the 2024-2025 academic year. I am extremely excited to see what the new year has in store for us.
We look forward to resuming providing quality content in September. Until then, this is goodbye for now.
Sincerely,
Kaz Bresnan, Editor-in-Chief
