New students,

 

You’ll hear countless times from your professors, advisers, other students and future employers that you should get involved during your time at Iowa State. I would advise the same thing, but also want you to keep something in mind as you do so.

 

Often, we see getting involved as a way to meet likeminded individuals, take action and grow in our interests. While all of these things are important to your college experience, so is meeting those different than us, listening and learning about the interests of others.

 

A large part of developing ourselves, our community, our state, our nation and our world is knowing who we are and knowing why we are who we are. It’s impossible to understand why we hold certain beliefs or goals in life if we don’t take time to understand others.

 

This is by far one of my favorite things about being editor in chief of the Iowa State Daily. Each day I learn new part about someone or something that I didn’t know before. And by consuming our content you can do the same.

 

I should let you know, though, that exposing yourself to views aside from your own is not always comfortable. But the purpose of college is not to be comfortable — it’s to learn and grow. That’s by no means easy, but it will help you become a better person.

 

If you have an open mind, you are bound to find more commonalities than differences with the wide array of students, faculty and staff that make up our campus. Beyond this, listen to understand and not to respond. And do this even with views you most wholeheartedly disagree with.

 

One of the best ways to expose yourself to differing views is to stay informed. In that regard, the Daily is here for you.

 

This year, you’ll see a lot of big things happening at the Daily. We are working on rebranding our print edition, launching a depth reporting team to take a closer look at some issues facing Iowa State, putting a renewed focus on engaging the community and expanding the digital tools you can consume our content on.

 

You can find the Daily in print on campus, at iowastatedaily.com, in the app store, on social media and in various events during the year. Don’t be afraid to interact with us — I promise we’re always looking for suggestions and feedback. You are always welcome to email me personally ([email protected]) or stop by to 2420 Lincoln Way, Suite 205, and I’ll show you around.

 

With regards,

Emily Barske

Editor in Chief