This issue wouldn’t have been possible if not for the good people at Gene’s Camera Store on Lincoln Way West.

Okay, that’s not true. We could have gone back to campus to pick up the SD card Elle, our brilliant photography editor, brilliantly forgot. But this is the South Bend issue, gosh darn it! Let’s get out into the community! And Gene’s Camera Store is 10 minutes closer to the South Bend Farmer’s Market, where we had already arrived before Elle realized she forgot the SD card!

And that’s how we bought a new SD card at Gene’s and made a triumphant return to the market. Then, after talking to the vendors, snapping some pics and making some purchases (see page 16), we were ready to go back to campus.

“Wait, what’s the cover going to be for this issue? Should we maybe get some photos of the murals or something?”

And that’s how we started our rainy day driving tour of South Bend murals and notable buildings. Going through downtown South Bend, the three of us called attention to our favorite spots. Sam (our digital editor and chauffeur) and I debated whether Fiddler’s Hearth counts as a non-student bar, Elle referred to an old church for sale as “potential senior housing” and I tried to convince the pair that the South Bend Chocolate Café was a photo-worthy spot and could-we-go-inside-please?

The best stop on the tour was the mural on the side of the Indiana 933 bridge (a mural Libby Garnett, who shared her “townie perspective” on page 22, helped paint). Sam made an illegal U-turn to pull into a side street and I held the umbrella to protect Elle (and more importantly, the camera) from the rain.

“It would be much better if I was taking this in the road.”

“Please don’t run into the middle of the road, Elle.”

Elle ran into the middle of the road and stood there for a few seconds, angling the camera as I anxiously watched for cars, then we ran back into Sam’s car to escape the rain.

And that’s how I spent my eighth-to-last Saturday morning as a Notre Dame undergrad in South Bend. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t what I expected, but it was filled with good people and good conversations in a good place.

It’s been an honor to serve as the editor-in-chief of this magazine. I owe everything good that’s come out of it to the staff, writers and designers. Thank you, Scholastic. Thank you, Notre Dame Student Media. Thank you, Notre Dame.

Peace,

Claire Early