Dear readers,
It’s that time of the year again. Many of you may be finding yourselves moving into your new dorm or simply returning to campus for another semester. Regardless, we’re all entering into a fresh year together that will present its many challenges and opportunities.
Whatever your situation may be, I would like to be the one of the first to welcome you to campus and introduce you to The Collegian, a paper where you can find news catered to the Fort Collins and Colorado State University communities, all published weekly in print and digitally.
My name is Sophie Webb, and I am the editor in chief. If you’ve followed The Collegian at all, you may have seen my name in the sports section in the years prior. This year, I’m taking a step up to the helm, and I could not be more excited to take this journey with all of you this upcoming year.
For those who might not be as experienced with our paper, I’ll let you in on what we’re all about.
The Collegian has been serving the community since 1891, covering topics such as the Denver International Airport opening, local music festivals, the Cameron Peak fire — the largest wildfire in Colorado history — and weekly recaps of CSU’s student government, which oversees around $74 million in student fees.
The Collegian is part of an independent company called Rocky Mountain Student Media. We’re one of six media outlets within RMSM, and as an independent newspaper, we can publish what we need and want, free from any outside editorial control.
As fortunate as I feel to have these abilities, I also understand that the ever-growing debate surrounding trust in journalism is at a crossroads. Trust must be earned, and as the editor in chief of The Collegian, I want to assure our readership that one of our main priorities is to hold a magnifying glass up to the stories we write — and also to ourselves.
We have an amazing editorial staff that is dedicated to fact-checking and maintaining our reputation and legacy as a newspaper. So if you want to catch up with the news or just learn about an event to attend, look no further.
The Collegian consists of six writing desks: news, sports, science, arts and entertainment, life and culture and opinion. You can find our alt-weekly print paper on the stands every Thursday or online at any time. We also have a visual team of photographers and graphic designers to supplement every story.
And even that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Just like a car, several interconnected parts of our paper ensure everything runs smoothly, and every week we are proud to put out our finest work on the stands for our readers to enjoy.
This will be my fourth year with the paper, and within these past years, I’ve met some of the most intelligent and hard-working people I know. Within our staff, there’s a family, but besides that, there’s opportunity. If you’ve ever wanted to travel with the football team or get special access to events that feature anyone from Marcello Hernandez to a practicing exorcist, The Collegian gets you there while building your resume for whatever path you may take after graduation.
I cannot express enough what this paper has done for me and so many others, and if you want to join, we would love to have you. It doesn’t matter what background you may have; we provide training sessions at the start of every semester for any interested student.
College can be a challenge; it can feel harsh and overwhelming — especially for those who are away from home for the first time — but despite whatever storm it may feel like, we want you to be able to count on us as a consistent resource during that time.
And if you are feeling stressed about the uncertainty that your future may hold, it’s OK. There are thousands of other students who are feeling the same way as they try to figure out which of the dining halls will be their main choice of sustenance for the next year or if their major was really the right choice for them.
It doesn’t matter if this is your first or fourth year; we’re all new to this. But if something out-of-the-ordinary happens on campus, I recommend you check out our website or social media @RMCollegian for updates and in-depth coverage. And if you feel we missed out on a coverage opportunity, if you want to tip us off to any upcoming events or if you have any general questions, feel free to reach out to editor@collegian.com.
Welcome to the Ramily,
Sophie Webb, editor in chief
Reach Sophie Webb at letters@collegian.com or on social media @sophgwebb.
