Don’t worry, we’re not here to upset you. Really, we’re not.
But lately, the editorial staff has heard plenty of upset voices in regards to recent opinions and comics that have been printed in this paper.
While those opinions may only reflect our angry readership, it’s never fun to take criticism towards something that all of us are very deeply passionate about. But while it hurts, it’s also nice this year to be judged by our actual content rather than last year’s error— misspelling “Washington” in a headline.
Take a second to glance at the front page, in the red bar right under the masthead are the words “the voice of the students.”
That text is there because as a newspaper, we believe that the students should have a voice. This paper is made by students, for students. Cliche? A bit, but we’ve also been able to lend a voice to many athletes, clubs and causes that wouldn’t get space in other local papers. From professors whose books can’t be sold back, to the various performances that go on at Moss Performing Arts Center, to the non-stop construction that has led up to the soon-to-be-opened College Center, we attempt to give our readers the best insight available because we, like you, deal with it on a daily basis.
It’s for that reason that every Sunday night, we cram into a tiny office in a building with no bathroom or janitorial service and put up with each other until the wee hours of the morning. It’s not always fun, but we do it out of passion.
While the voice of the students is reflected in the news we print, it also comes out in the form of comics and opinions. From the non-traditional students to the dorm dwellers, we take pride in having numerous voices fill the very page you are reading now. In the past, the only comics you could find in this paper were distributed for free to college papers nationwide, but the ones that currently reside in this paper are all made by Mesa State students. Unless the comic or opinion would put us in legal trouble, we avoid censoring those authors. We can encourage them to make sure their topics are well researched, but ultimately, we edit for clarity, not content. Those opinions are theirs, not ours.
The only opinion that honestly represents this paper’s position is the one right here in this gray box. If you leave this box, it’s a jungle, and the only thing that we can promise is that it’s not libelous.
But should you disagree with what’s printed here, we encourage you to take pen to paper or grab your computer, because we will print any letter to the editor that follows our guidelines printed elsewhere on this page. We give our writers an open forum and treat letters to the editor no differently.
We realize that not everybody will agree with what’s printed, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to silence the voice that we have.