Dear readers,
As you return to a very different campus than the one we left — or step for the first time onto a campus you had imagined very differently — we want to make an introduction.
If you didn’t know, The Collegian is a student-run newspaper. We report on the issues that matter most to our Colorado State University community, but CSU doesn’t get a say in what we cover or how we cover it.
Our primary goal is to be a voice for the students. In the midst of a public health and human rights crisis, we understand that it is more important than ever that we provide you not only reliable information but investigative analyses of the issues that affect our community.
We want to make it clear that The Collegian editorial board and management team is now run by an almost completely new group of students. While we respect and appreciate the hard work of our former colleagues, we recognize mistakes that were made in the past.
“Our coverage will look different this year as we take this opportunity to recalibrate our role within the community and improve it for the better.”
In the midst of a series of racist incidents on campus last year, The Collegian failed to foster an inclusive environment for its staff or report on the incidents in a timely and transparent manner.
We knew it then, and this summer we have resolved even further that we do not intend to repeat these mistakes.
The COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests have forced us all to reassess the way we do things, and the newsroom has been no exception. Our coverage will look different this year as we take this opportunity to recalibrate our role within the community and improve it for the better.
The Collegian editorial board has begun the process of creating concrete steps to increase the inclusivity and equity of our coverage and among the staff in our newsroom. We understand that inclusivity efforts must go beyond empty buzzwords and a desire to regain trust; inclusivity isn’t an achievement, it’s a basic human rights requirement that we desperately need.
We are currently taking steps to review our internal policies, especially in regards to revising our employee training and onboarding process with the goal of making inclusivity and anti-racism an integral aspect of our coverage and work environment. We have also begun preparations to increase community engagement and feedback and are grateful to be completing each of these steps with the assistance of Hodge-SaintJour and Associates, a diversity, equity and inclusion consulting firm owned and operated by former CSU students, some of whom were Collegian members.
As we prepare for the fall semester, we must situate ourselves within the national and global context of adversity and change that will surely mark this time in history. We understand our responsibility as a publication to accurately reflect our surroundings and are ready to rise to the occasion.
We strive to make The Collegian a place where every student who wants to join us will be welcomed and given the tools to improve their community through their work. Rams, stay safe, be strong and know that we are with you.
Respectfully,
The Collegian editorial board
Lauryn Bolz, editor-in-chief
Abby Vander Graaff, content managing editor
Matt Tackett, digital & design managing editor
