To new students, welcome to campus, and to returning students, I hope you are as ready for another year as I am. Hopefully we at the Daily can make feeling ready a little easier for you. My goal as editor-in-chief is to guide our staff of student reporters, photographers and editors to create content that is geared toward better informing the Iowa State campus.
We are not the Iowa State University Daily. The Iowa State Daily’s independent status allows us to tell the stories the way they should be, free from outside editorial control causing bias. Since 1890, these stories have been written by students, edited by students, published by students, and are made available for free and sent to your inbox in the form of “The Daily Dose.”
Our stories covering Iowa State are written to inform this campus about things like the Immediate Access ONE program, why the university transitioned from AccessPlus to Workday and how the Board of Regents’ DEI directives led to the university closing its DEI office. We also publish powerful sports columns, like advocating for change after Iowa State football’s loss at Ohio, and write feature articles introducing you to the players you need to know, like Audi Crooks. From articles about the Minecraft mob vote to reviewing “The Tortured Poet’s Department” and letters like the one you are reading, we truly cover it all.
But we cannot tell any stories or accomplish our mission without your voices. The students, faculty and staff at Iowa State make it possible for us to do what we do. We tell all kinds of stories and though it may seem like we know everything, we don’t. We rely on you to contribute story ideas and submit news. You can reach me and our editors on our contact page and can submit news tips on our website.
To the new students, find a club, a passion, and your people and enjoy what this university and city have in store for you. The next four years of your lives will be some of your most important, so don’t be afraid to make changes to your lives like I did. If someone told my freshman-self, who majored in meteorology and always wanted to work at the National Weather Service, that I would be editor-in-chief of the Iowa State Daily I would have never ever believed them. Welcome change, because the decisions you make here and up until graduation will matter when you begin the rest of your lives.
For many seniors like myself, this is our last first day of school following several that were marred by the COVID-19 pandemic. Four years later, we are starting another senior year, and I am hopeful that this one brings so many happy memories and no life-altering historical events. Don’t forget to soak it all in and enjoy senior year because so much can happen in a single academic year. Walking across the graduation stage in May with the class of 2025 will be an honor and I am excited to see my fellow Cyclones everywhere after we go our separate ways.
Let’s all have a great year and go Cyclones!
