I celebrate today, for it's been years in the making. It's the fresh start of a new era in Chronicle history. Today's editorial pages represent a tremendous step for student opinion.
Let your eyes wander to the top left of this page. It looks like it's just an editorial about U.S. News & World Report's college rankings.
So what, exactly, is the big deal?
On the surface level, the editorial is not all that special in comparison to the thousands of others that have been printed in The Chronicle since 1905.
But this editorial is fundamentally different from all the rest. It is the first one produced by the paper's new independent editorial board.
We've been telling you about upcoming changes to the editorial board through a handful of editor's notes over the past few months, but now the changes are finally in place. We've hit the ground running with intelligent, provocative, informed discussion. I'm proud to be a part of it, and excited to think about what the board can accomplish this year.
Previously, the staff editorial (which is now just called the "editorial") was written by one of about 25 staffers, an anonymous writer passing along the opinion agreed upon among the paper's top editors. Now, the editor, editorial page managing editor and I (all members of the previous editorial board) will formulate opinions with a number of top campus thinkers.
The editorials will still be anonymously written; such is the professional standard for editorials and an important tenet in the world of newspaper opinion writing. We are, however, releasing the names of the editorial board members, an announcement that hasn't been made in recent Chronicle history. I want you to know where these opinions are coming from and on what grounds you should agree or disagree with our opinions.
These seven new members of the editorial board have diverse interests and a depth of knowledge about the University skeptics said we wouldn't find.
But we did. The leadership experience in this group of 10 men and women is impressive. Some are past leaders of Duke Student Government and Campus Council. Some are former columnists and reporters. Some are in greek groups; some are independents. All are extremely qualified. Their energy and expertise is nothing short of inspiring.
So, who are these distinctly qualified people? Well, without further ado, let me introduce you to the board. Seniors Seyward Darby, Joel Kliksberg, Trish Lenza, Matt Levy, Ben Rubinfeld, Brandon White and Matt Yelovich along with juniors Ryan McCartney and Elizabeth Rudisill will join me as full voting members.
When you see us on campus, speak your mind, relay your concerns. Although we may not always side with popular opinion, we are keenly interested in what every member of the Duke community has to say.
In the next few weeks, we will seek out a couple of freshmen to give our board a healthy dose of East-Campus flavor. Any freshmen interested should contact me at dbe@duke.edu.
I believe this change will improve the quality of our editorial pages, and in turn encourage thought, discussion and action on campus. Whether or not these goals are eventually realized, however, is up to you and how willing you are to join in campus discussion.
Dan Englander is a Trinity junior and editorial page editor of The Chronicle.
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