By Soven Bery ’15 and Megha Poddar ’15, Editors-in-Chief

As the Seniors check out and graduate, the Classes of 2015 and 2016 are expected to fill the holes left by the departing grade. This turnover is most clearly seen in leadership roles, as vacant positions are quickly earned by able underclassmen. Clubs, committees and organizations throughout the school experience this phenomenon every spring and our newspaper is no different. In the past few weeks, we welcomed twelve new editors for our six sections. For all, except one, this is their first time being an editor. The Minuteman, like many groups across the school, is getting younger after losing eleven seniors to graduation. The new Editorial Staff features eight current sophomores and four current juniors. The full list of editors is featured below.

• Megha Poddar ‘15 and Soven Bery ‘15 replace Siddarth Kannan ‘14 and Rebecca Gorelov ‘14 as Editors-in-Chief
• Sivi Satchi ‘15 replaces Jacob Weisneck ‘14 as Editor-in-Chief of the Magazine
• Kevin Mittal ‘15 and Aidan Fox ‘16 replace Megha Poddar ‘15 and Zach Gross ‘14 in News
• Perrin Clark ‘15 and Jake Furst ‘16 replace Courtney Cooperman ‘16 and Jake Cohen ‘14 in Commentary
• Anna Hope Emerson ‘16 and Courtney Cooperman ‘16 replace Soven Bery ‘15 & Sivi Satchi ‘15 in Feature
• Sam Sidi ‘16 and Dalton DeStefano ‘16 replace Ethan Savel ‘14 and Lauren Whelan ‘14 in Arts
• Zach Persing ‘15 and Ben Goodman ‘16 replace Cory Tell ‘14 and Tyler Park ‘14 in Sports
• Lila Rimalovski ‘15 and Erin Mooney ‘16 replace Thomas Pan ‘14 and Max Whitmore ‘14 in Humor

However, no matter how young this current staff is, we firmly believe in their ability to produce great work. We hope that you agree with us while reading this exclusive “Editors-Only Edition” of the online newspaper. The issue is specifically designed to acquaint you, the readers, with our plethora of new talent on the staff. From an entertaining and detailed welcome to the revamped Feature Section to hilarious tweets to timely and interesting exposés, we feel these articles have everything that The Minuteman strives to accomplish.

But the turnover to younger talent is not just a newspaper phenomenon. School committees are opening membership positions to mainly current sophomores; clubs are electing new presidents, vice presidents and leadership boards comprised of sophomores and juniors. Hannah Zack ‘14 passed down the office of School President to Matt Thekkethala ‘15, as the newspaper covered the event in real time. This wasn’t the only election that students had their minds on this spring. Nationally and internationally, the face of leadership is changing. A few miles north of our school, Ras Baraka was named mayor-elect of Newark, earning the chance to build on what mayor Cory Booker has achieved in past years. A few thousand miles to the east in India a contentious presidential race came to a close and the new leader of the world’s largest democracy  will, without a doubt, greatly influence world politics for the next decade.

No matter the example of leadership turnover– whether it be something as big as the crowning of a new president in one of the world’s largest super powers or something as small as the crowning of the next club president at the Academy– all leaders will come to understand that being a leader can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, new leaders bring new voices, possibilities, and ideas, all of which can transform a community or country for the better. Yet at the same time, leaders carry a greater weight and sense of responsibility for themselves and others. Baraka was all smiles after winning the election, but will inherit a host of problems in Newark.  Narendra Modi campaigned heavily to win the chance to lead the largest democracy in the world. However, the prestigious position comes with a caveat: India is riddled with questions both on the domestic front and in terms of their role in the international community. During this month-long election the world turned to Southeast Asia to follow along with the voting. The attention won’t go away as the new, enthusiastic leader will undoubtedly be put under a lens. As newly named Editors-in-Chief of The Minuteman, we are already beginning to feel this combination of excitement and pressure.

But for us, the challenge is what motivates us, what inspires us to push this newspaper to the next level.