It’s hard to believe that another year has already come and gone. Where did 2008 go? The semester is finally over and in five short days we can enjoy an entire month free of boring lectures, novel-length essays, bubbling in Scantron sheets and never opening another Chemistry book again. To most of us, the end of the year and the end of the semester could not come soon enough.

At the start of a new year we dread everything that lies ahead of us. Another semester, a few more lingering months of cold weather, football season coming to an end, and the thought of having to go through Finals Week in just a few short months.

The new year is enough to make anyone feel nostalgic for 2008. But getting out of the end of the year slump is easy when you consider all the great things that happened this year. Sure, we hit a few bumps in the road, but overall 2008 was a great success.

We think everyone can agree getting fall break back was the best thing the university offered all year. Sure, Thanksgiving was cut short, but without that extra time off, the stress would have been unbearable for most. And yes, we realize we lost reading days, but look at it this way, you get out of school at least a week earlier than all your friends. While they stress over finals you can relax and enjoy the holidays.

At the start of the school year we loved the idea of June Jones coming to coach the Mustang football team, and while we’re still holding out for that amazing season, we can’t help but admit we were slightly disappointed in another 1-11 season. Hopefully with the new year the basketball program will take over as the winning team on campus. With that being said, fans can at least look forward to March Madness in a few months.

After a year of construction Mockingbird Lane has finally reopened, and student requests for crosswalks have been granted. Hopefully by the end of next year the engineering and education buildings will be complete and we can have at least one semester without the sound of bulldozers and falling cement interrupting our studying. New things are great, but everyone is getting sick and tired of detours. Even better, if these projects were worked on throughout break maybe students can actually get to classes on time and even find parking!

Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of the year though is the Presidential election. As President Elect Barack Obama prepares to take over the White House next year, the entire country, whether you are a Republican or Democrat, can appreciate the historical significance of having the first black man in the White House.

With all these highs and lows it’s hard to tell if we are going to miss 2008 or if we’re just glad the year is over. From all of us here at The Daily Campus, it’s been a great year, Mustangs. See you all in 2009.