Welcome to Iowa State University and to the Iowa State Daily.

To those freshmen, transfer students and other first-timers, this is a source of your independent student news.

In the face of a turbulent economic crisis and an industry with budgets which slope continually downward, the students responsible for what you hold in your hands share a passion for keeping you informed.

There’s a saying around the newsroom: “Fair, complete and balanced.” These are our standards.

Our goal is to give you the information you need to make well-informed decisions as you continue your academic careers at Iowa State.

And, like most of you, we aren’t perfect.

As students, we’re learning the skills we need for our future careers.

As you’ll see on page 1, we’re online, at iowastatedaily.net, facebook.com/iowastatedaily and twitter.com/iowastatedaily.

We’re taking steps to bring the news you’re interested in and need to know to you rather than making you wait until tomorrow morning to get your hands on it.

If you visit any of the three sites above, you’ll see we’re in the process of developing more complete coverage of the entertainment scene in Ames, and we’re looking for your input. You know what you’re looking for, so shoot us a line and let us know what you’d like to see — how it is that we’d most effectively serve you.

Because journalism is and has always been the profession of a public servant.

If you’re looking for news, look no further than today’s “A” section.

The Business section publishes Monday; you may have skipped over its coverage of the Cash for Clunkers program in Ames on page 5. You’ll find coverage of the Cyclones, club sports and the occasional intramural highlight in Sports, which you’ll find in today’s “B” section. And in preparation for your first-week cooldown, watch for Thursday’s publication of AMUSE, highlighting the many things going on in and around Ames over the weekend.

– Zach Thompson is the editor-in-chief of the Iowa State Daily and is a senior in technical communication from Nevada, Iowa.